Occult Magazine: Evolution's Gate
by Shaded Skies
Summary: The Eeveelution cult known as Evolution's Gate became disbanded after the bizarre deaths of 47 of its members. This is a story where fact and the occult meet, and in which one must question where the line between fantasy and reality is drawn...
1. Snivy's Story

_I was sitting at home, enjoying a particularly good movie when I got a call from work. Told me to put on the news.  
"So what? Let one of the newbies handle this" I said, but noooo..._

_Crap, I think it's starting to rain, too..._

_

* * *

_

It wasn't long before the rain was really coming down. The strong wind was turning minuscule raindrops into freezing icicles. While slithering through this storm would have been a lot faster than running, I would probably have drowned if I happened to come across an especially deep puddle.

Let me introduce myself - My name is Snivy, although my colleagues call me "Smugleaf", which they in turn say is "a fitting profile". I believe it's their way of coping with the fact that I am far more skilled at my job than they are. For instance, whatever pleasantries I would usually partake in on a Saturday night have been long forgotten since I was called in to work after this whole cult thing went down.

Yes, "cult thing". Apparently some Pokémon are so bored with their existence that they attempt to appease Arceus with strange rituals or try to create an eighteenth element. I mean, we all went looking for Mew under trucks and in mystery dungeons when we were kids, but there comes a time when you simply have to grow up and forget about all that.

This one went way out of proportions, though. I'm not fully up to date on what exactly went down, but people are calling it the greatest catastrophe of modern time, and the media refuses to release any statements or pictures of the event. "Evolution's Gate"… A gate to evolution…? Or is it just a name they liked and stuck with… Like "Smugleaf"…

I finally escaped the downpour and entered the police station. A man came to greet me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I can't understand what he's saying. I nodded and told him to sod off (It's not like he can understand me either) before walking into the detention area.

The air was hot and heavy, and I could detect a strong scent of foulness hanging in the air. Sadly, I knew exactly what this meant.

"Smugleaf! Glad that you could make it, old pal!" I heard the revolting Muk say from behind me. He was holding some kind of sludge in his right hand, which I honestly couldn't tell if it was condiments or another missing piece from his brain.

"Umk, I was right before the Primal Dialga fight in Explorers of Darkness when you called" I said and suddenly wished I had started the movie 20 minutes earlier, "This had better be important."

"Ahaha, let me save you the trouble!" he chuckled, "The real villain's Lugia, everyone already knows that!"

The only thing stopping me from splattering this peon right here and now was the fact that I'd get Umk all over me and it might have made me as stupid, ugly and smelly he was.

"No, you've… You've seen the news, right?" he said, and looked concerned.  
"Of course I have" I responded confidently, "Evolution's Gate, massacre, no survivors?"  
"Oh, but see, there WERE survivors" he responded with the same confidence, which was quite unfitting, "We've got one of them right here."

He pointed over to the detention area, which had been completely fitted with two-way mirrors so that you would not have to be abnormally tall to see anything. In there was an Eevee, a young girl with brown fur. She was curled up in a ball, but not while lying down but rather sitting up and leaning against one of the mirrors. For a flexible Pokemon such as myself a feat like that would be fine, but I was pretty sure she had to be uncomfortable that way.

"Problem is, she ain't talking" Umk said, and tried to emulate a sigh which sounded more like a death rattle. I shuddered.

"So that's where I come in, eh?" I said and looked around the room from some sheet of paper, "… I'm guess you're the briefing?"  
"You've got it" he said, and chuckled.  
"… OK, tell me what you know, and then I'll go in there to get some info out of her"

Doors open. I enter. Doors close. Usually when you're trapped in a small room with nothing but mirrors, this would provoke a reaction out of you. But not this girl. She just blinked, and remained curled into a ball.

"Good evening, miss Eve" I said, and walked closer to her before sitting down on the floor. I saw that she was clutching some kind of artifact, holding it to her stomach. The little creature looked up for a moment, before resuming her brooding of the object in her paws.

"May I inquire as to what you are holding?" I asked, trying to sound as clinical as possible. She looked up again, and to my surprise I could see that her face showed confusion rather than anger or fear. Quite unusual.

"A Waterstone" she said, and looked down at it again. She was really quite taken with this object.  
"Oh yes" I said while remembering my briefing, "Quite a valuable item among you Eevee, I hear. Are you planning on using it to evolve?"

Suddenly, she shot me a dirty look and started yelling. _"If I could I wouldn't be here, now would I!"_  
I was not caught off guard for even a moment, having seen this happen a million times. Finally, I was getting somewhere.

"Oh?" I asked with feigned curiosity, "Do elaborate."  
"What, elaborate what?" she said while lowering her voice but keeping that angry tone, "You must have seen. You must have seen what had happened, what we did."  
"Well… Not personally, no" I responded, never being one to lie, "But from what I hear you weren't exactly making berry juice."  
"… Then why the hell would they send you!" she started shouting again, "Why are you even talking to me! Talk to Zerobi or Astrid if you want someone who knows anything!"

"Well, see, that's the problem" I started and a felt a surge of confidence well up, "We've tried asking them, but they were both a bit too dead to answer." Ah, that felt good.

Eve didn't even flinch. "Oh… I figured as much" she whispered, and then she slumped down on the ground and started cradling the Waterstone. Worried that I was losing her, I quickly thought back to my briefing once more.

"Zerobi… That was the Weavile, right?" I said while looking for some kind of reaction on the little girl. "According to the report, she managed to kill 4 humans and 3 Pokemon before being put down" I continued, and saw a slight cringe rock her body, "… Quite a high number. They say it was because she only dismembered a limb or two from her target before switching, causing them to die a few hours later."

"… Yeah, the blood." Eve whispered softly, "… It was the blood she craved."

"… Listen, I want to help you get out of this place and get some rest…" I said, getting tired of all the loose ends bundling up, "But you have to tell me what was going on in there. One second it's all nice and dandy, next it's a bloody bloodbath. No one knows why!"

"It was always a bloodbath…" she said with a dark tone in her voice, "I'm… Tired of this. I will tell you what happened, b-but you have to promise to let me go once I'm done."

"You have my word" I said as a reflex, simply glad to finally get her talking. I had better things to be doing, rather than listen to a bunch of crazy occult rituals.

"OK, then" she said, "This is how it all happened…"


	2. Eve's Story

_Some will tell you that this whole incident began with Zerobi. Some will say that it started with Astrid. _

_For me, it started with fire._

* * *

I'm Eve, an Eevee who was named by her unimaginative father. My father was a Houndoom and my mother was a Leafeon. They both fell in love when they were captured by the same trainer, and got quite a reputation after participating in a fight against the Elite Four.  
Apparently their trainer died from a disease after attempting to scale a tall mountain, and so on his deathbed he released them and they had me.

I loved my mother very much. She was soft, gentle, loving, everything you could ever want in a mother. We lived in a forest when I was young, when an accident happened that set our burrow ablaze. My father was away, so my mother had to carry me out through the flames. Since I was a Normal type I was able to escape with some minor burns, but mother was a Grass type.

She caught on fire.

As soon as we had escaped the forest, I remember being dropped and seeing my mother covered in fire and screaming. It was corroding her flesh into a blackish hue. She was rolling around on the ground to try to extinguish the fire, but it wouldn't stop. I shouted for help and ran away, trying to find some water, but to no avail. No matter how far I went, I could detect the faint smell of mother somewhere within the thick smoke.

When I came back, she was dead. The mother that had once birthed me, cradled me and loved me like no one else was now no more than a clump of coal. I ran up to her body and cried, and when father came back he cried too, and when all our friends heard of what had happened they cried as well.

Father and I moved into the city after that. I was… Not very stable the years following mother's death, but my father was very protective of me. I love him, too. However, the incident had left me with a heavy scar that not even he could defend me from - A fear of fire.

One might say that a fear of fire is more healthy than destructive. Try saying that after almost freezing to death on a cold winter night, or running away from any Fire Pokemon in the vicinity. No matter what kind of fire it was, I could always see mother writhing among the flames and smell her scent in the smoke. I hated it. I HATE fire!

Father stopped using his Fire moves after the accident. He always said that he was also a Dark type and that he wouldn't need it, but I think he was just worried about me.

As an Eevee, you never really know what is going to happen. Normally you have a trainer who decides what you should evolve into, but for the rest of us it's nerve wrecking. You have to choose between widely different forms to spend the rest of your life as! If you take your time evolving, you become either an Umbreon or Espeon. If you happen to stumble upon the Moss or Ice Rock, you'll become a Leafeon or Glaceon. The easiest way of evolving seems to be getting a hold of one of the elemental stones, so that you can become a Vaporeon, Jolteon or… Or… Flareon…

The thought of one day transforming into a Flareon made me sick to my stomach. With my hate of fire, becoming fire incarnate! I'd die! No, I had made my decision early - I was going to be a Vaporeon. Extinguisher of flames! Friend of the Grass-types! The distraught of Ground-types! Nothing could fit me any better, I would never have to fear fire again!

The problem is that there were no Waterstones. Not for me, anyway. Apparently these stones are excavated from deep underground, and then shipped to the tall building in Celadon where they are sold at a high price. First of all, no human would ever sell anything to a Pokemon, especially not a wild one like me. Second of all, even if I slaved away in an exploration team for years I wouldn't earn any human currency, which is what I need.

So the only option for me would be to get myself caught by a human, and have him evolve me. This is a horrible idea. I don't want a trainer! I don't want to fight for a living! And what if he decides not to evolve me, or turn me into a Flareon! I'd die!

I had no plan. Very little hope. I just went to the school for Pokemon in Celadon City every day, fighting with my fear of fire and avoiding evolutionary items whenever I could.

Then, on… Oh, sometime in the year 2006, summer I think, something happened that would change my life forever. It… Was so innocent. To think that it would one day become something so unearthly and so frightening.

I met Zerobi, the future leader of Evolution's Gate.

Zerobi was a Sneasel in my class. Very elegant and intelligent, but also very dark. She was really into the occult, spouting her mouth about reality-devouring creatures called MissingNo or Mew, Mewtwo and Mewthree.

Although she was very strange in this regard, her looks and natural charms earned her a lot of friends, and she was the talk of all the boys. She would always be reading these "occult magazines", which is probably where she got all her weird ideas from.

I was surprisingly popular in school. While I tended to shy away and avoid large crowds, everyone said it was just cute and wanted to spend time with me anyway. It didn't take long for my fear of fire and plight in evolution to become well known facts in the classroom. And just after that…

"Hey Eve, wanna join me for lunch?" Zerobi said one day after class, with a broad smile on her face.  
"I… Uh…" I stammered, never having really talked to her before.  
"Come on, I'll share some of my Leppa Cake with you!" she beamed, then moved closer and started to whisper, "Nothin' but small berries!"  
"Sure… Why not?" I said, I really didn't have any reason not to go with her.

Although looking back, this might have been the worst mistake of my life. But how could I have known? How could anyone have known! She was just another girl at our school, how would we have known that she was in fact a vicious, bloodthirsty demon!  
Fine, never mind, I'll continue with the story.

We sat down by the river flowing by Bill's House. Zerobi fumbled about with something in her bag, which looked rather difficult on account of her gloves. Being a Pokemon with sharp claws was already tough whenever you weren't fighting, but the claws of Sneasel are so absurdly sharp that they need wear specially designed gloves at all time as to not hurt those around them.

"You know, the guy that lived here, Bill…" she stared as she pulled out a Leppa Cake and handed it to me, "They say he did some weird experiments in there. Turned people into Pokemon."  
"Oh?" I said, not surprised at the subject, "So it's like that movie, Explorers of Time?"  
"No, no, that was the other way around" Zero said and laughed, "Haven't you seen the sequel?"  
"Oh…" I whispered, not really glad to have the big plot twist spoiled for me, "No, not really."  
"Oh! Crap! Did I spoil it for you?" Zerobi exclaimed in shock, "I thought for sure you had seen it! I remember the first day you came to school, hugging that Wigglytuff doll so tight… You were so cute!" I felt a bit embarrassed, remembering how scared I was when I first came here. I sighed and then started eating the Leppa Cake.

We sat there for a while, talking about anything and everything around us. School, our classmates and the people of Cerulean City. Zerobi had many odd thoughts about everyday objects and people. She said that the gym leader Misty had once been on an amazing journey with gym leader Brock and was actually a lot more powerful than she appeared to be. She was really an open person, and even though her ideas were weird they were entertaining to listen to.

"I'd better go home now, or my father will be worried about me" I said after a while, and got up to leave.  
"Ah yeah, I heard about your dad" Zerobi said with a low voice, "And about… You."

"About me?" I said, and had a feeling about what she was talking about, "You mean how I love Leppa Cakes?"  
"Huh? No. Really?" she said in surprise, but quickly got her serious demeanor back, "Just luck, I guess… No, about you wanting to evolve into a Vaporeon. I can help you with that, you know."  
This caught me completely off guard. Many had talked to me about my dreams, but actually suggesting fulfilling them?

"WHAT! REALLY!" I shouted in a painfully embarrassing moment, "Ah, sorry, but, you have a, you know, Waterstone?" If anyone could their claws on such a rare artifact, it's Zerobi!  
"Nope" she responded, and I sunk. "But there is another way. I have something even better!"  
She started digging around in her bag again, and pulled out one of her occult magazines. I was disappointed, but easy come, easy go. At least it would be fun to see what her big plan was.

"See, here, page 13…" she said while flipping through the magazine with unexpected skill considering her normally clumpy claws, "There!" She pointed to an article named 'Eeveelutions - Still Evolving!' with dark, crooked letters. Here's what the article said:

_** Eeveelutions - Still Evolving!**_

_70 years ago, the only Eeveelutions that existed were Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon. By infusing them with the power of the elemental stones, they represented the elements of Fire, Water and Electricity._

_However, since then there have been several different Eeveelutions popping up in many new elements, such as Psychic, Dark, Grass and Ice. The evolution methods for these types vary in method, but all stem from the same source - Being infused with the element of their respective Eeveelution._

_Although 30 years have passed since the last new Eeveelution (Leafeon) was discovered, scientists believe that the Pokemon known as Eevee can evolve into a Pokemon of any element, given the right stimulation. What kind of stimulation? No one knows. Perhaps if you let your Eevee friend spend a little extra time with some Ghost or Bug Pokemon, you will be the first to discover an entirely new species of Pokemon!_

"Hold on, just a minute" the green snake Pokemon in front of me said, "How would you remember something like that in such detail?" His eyes were half closed, but I could tell that they were scanning my every detail with precision as I told the story, looking for signs of dishonesty.  
"I cut out that part of the magazine later" I responded, "And read it every day before going to sleep."  
"Do you still have it in your possession?" the snake Pokemon said, looking only slightly less bored now than when he had first entered my cell.  
"No, I don't know…" I answered truthfully, "Maybe, who knows if it survived the last day over there? I'll get to it later, can you please let me finish my story so I can go home?"  
"Yeah, sure" he said and leaned back, "You want a bowl of water or something?"  
"No, I'm fine… I've had enough of water" I said before continuing the story.

"So…" I said after finishing reading the article, "What does this have to do with me?"  
"You're and Eevee!" Zerobi said happily, "According to this article, you can be anything you want!"  
"Yes, but I don't want to become a Ghost-Eevee or Bug-Eevee!" I said with a hint of irritation in my voice, "I want to be a Vaporeon!"  
"Don't you get it?" she responded and stood up hastily, "If there are Eevee that can evolve just by being near the elements, who says you can't be infused with water and evolve without a Waterstone?"

"That's… No, that's just" I started saying, but didn't really know what to say, "That's a bit farfetched, isn't it?"  
"So is Farfetche'd, that doesn't mean people haven't fetched it!" she responded quickly, obviously having used this retort before.  
"Listen, I appreciate the help and all" I said as I got up, "But I'm not going to spend the next month swimming around in water, hoping to evolve. We've got a test on Friday, don't we?" Zerobi looked very disappointed when she picked up her bag.

"OK, fine, I'm not going to force you…" she said, "… Wanna study together tomorrow? I've got a secret for dealing with Rock-types, it's all in their special defense…"

We chatted as we walked home, and I got chastised by my father for staying out so late. I didn't mind.

It was the beginning of a new friendship.

And although we didn't know it, it was also the beginning of Evolution's Gate.

* * *

_Author's Corner  
_

"I really didn't ask for your life's story, missy…" Snivy said with an annoyed tone.

"This becomes important later on" Eve responded, grabbing a tight hold of the Waterstone, and letting it rub against her body.

"You know what else becomes important later on?" he asked with sarcasm, "Whether you completely wasted my time here or not. Could mean the difference between life... And death..."

CUT CUT CUT!

Snivy, what kind of behavior is that! You're supposed to be a detective for crying out loud, you can't just make death threats out of nowhere!

"You told me to say exactly what's on my mind, didn't you?" Snivy says and gives me a nasty glare, "Right now, this story is boring me."

No, just… It might seem boring now, but this all comes back later… You know what? I'm the writer; you shut up and do as I will!

"While you two are bickering, can I go on a quick toilet break?" Eve asks with pure sincerity.

**NEVEEEEEEEERRRRRRR!11! NEVER EVER NEVEREVERNEVER!**

_I was sitting at home, enjoying a particularly good movie when I got a call from work. Told me to put on the news.  
"So what? Let one of the newbies handle this" I said, but noooo..._

_Crap, I think it's starting to rain, too..._

_

* * *

_

It wasn't long before the rain was really coming down. The strong wind was turning minuscule raindrops into freezing icicles. While slithering through this storm would have been a lot faster than running, I would probably have drowned if I happened to come across an especially deep puddle.

Let me introduce myself - My name is Snivy, although my colleagues call me "Smugleaf", which they in turn say is "a fitting profile". I believe it's their way of coping with the fact that I am far more skilled at my job than they are. For instance, whatever pleasantries I would usually partake in on a Saturday night have been long forgotten since I was called in to work after this whole cult thing went down.

Yes, "cult thing". Apparently some Pokémon are so bored with their existence that they attempt to appease Arceus with strange rituals or try to create an eighteenth element. I mean, we all went looking for Mew under trucks and in mystery dungeons when we were kids, but there comes a time when you simply have to grow up and forget about all that.

This one went way out of proportions, though. I'm not fully up to date on what exactly went down, but people are calling it the greatest catastrophe of modern time, and the media refuses to release any statements or pictures of the event. "Evolution's Gate"… A gate to evolution…? Or is it just a name they liked and stuck with… Like "Smugleaf"…

I finally escaped the downpour and entered the police station. A man came to greet me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I can't understand what he's saying. I nodded and told him to sod off (It's not like he can understand me either) before walking into the detention area.

The air was hot and heavy, and I could detect a strong scent of foulness hanging in the air. Sadly, I knew exactly what this meant.

"Smugleaf! Glad that you could make it, old pal!" I heard the revolting Muk say from behind me. He was holding some kind of sludge in his right hand, which I honestly couldn't tell if it was condiments or another missing piece from his brain.

"Umk, I was right before the Primal Dialga fight in Explorers of Darkness when you called" I said and suddenly wished I had started the movie 20 minutes earlier, "This had better be important."

"Ahaha, let me save you the trouble!" he chuckled, "The real villain's Lugia, everyone already knows that!"

The only thing stopping me from splattering this peon right here and now was the fact that I'd get Umk all over me and it might have made me as stupid, ugly and smelly he was.

"No, you've… You've seen the news, right?" he said, and looked concerned.  
"Of course I have" I responded confidently, "Evolution's Gate, massacre, no survivors?"  
"Oh, but see, there WERE survivors" he responded with the same confidence, which was quite unfitting, "We've got one of them right here."

He pointed over to the detention area, which had been completely fitted with two-way mirrors so that you would not have to be abnormally tall to see anything. In there was an Eevee, a young girl with brown fur. She was curled up in a ball, but not while lying down but rather sitting up and leaning against one of the mirrors. For a flexible Pokemon such as myself a feat like that would be fine, but I was pretty sure she had to be uncomfortable that way.

"Problem is, she ain't talking" Umk said, and tried to emulate a sigh which sounded more like a death rattle. I shuddered.

"So that's where I come in, eh?" I said and looked around the room from some sheet of paper, "… I'm guess you're the briefing?"  
"You've got it" he said, and chuckled.  
"… OK, tell me what you know, and then I'll go in there to get some info out of her"

Doors open. I enter. Doors close. Usually when you're trapped in a small room with nothing but mirrors, this would provoke a reaction out of you. But not this girl. She just blinked, and remained curled into a ball.

"Good evening, miss Eve" I said, and walked closer to her before sitting down on the floor. I saw that she was clutching some kind of artifact, holding it to her stomach. The little creature looked up for a moment, before resuming her brooding of the object in her paws.

"May I inquire as to what you are holding?" I asked, trying to sound as clinical as possible. She looked up again, and to my surprise I could see that her face showed confusion rather than anger or fear. Quite unusual.

"A Waterstone" she said, and looked down at it again. She was really quite taken with this object.  
"Oh yes" I said while remembering my briefing, "Quite a valuable item among you Eevee, I hear. Are you planning on using it to evolve?"

Suddenly, she shot me a dirty look and started yelling. _"If I could I wouldn't be here, now would I!"_  
I was not caught off guard for even a moment, having seen this happen a million times. Finally, I was getting somewhere.

"Oh?" I asked with feigned curiosity, "Do elaborate."  
"What, elaborate what?" she said while lowering her voice but keeping that angry tone, "You must have seen. You must have seen what had happened, what we did."  
"Well… Not personally, no" I responded, never being one to lie, "But from what I hear you weren't exactly making berry juice."  
"… Then why the hell would they send you!" she started shouting again, "Why are you even talking to me! Talk to Zerobi or Astrid if you want someone who knows anything!"

"Well, see, that's the problem" I started and a felt a surge of confidence well up, "We've tried asking them, but they were both a bit too dead to answer." Ah, that felt good.

Eve didn't even flinch. "Oh… I figured as much" she whispered, and then she slumped down on the ground and started cradling the Waterstone. Worried that I was losing her, I quickly thought back to my briefing once more.

"Zerobi… That was the Weavile, right?" I said while looking for some kind of reaction on the little girl. "According to the report, she managed to kill 4 humans and 3 Pokemon before being put down" I continued, and saw a slight cringe rock her body, "… Quite a high number. They say it was because she only dismembered a limb or two from her target before switching, causing them to die a few hours later."

"… Yeah, the blood." Eve whispered softly, "… It was the blood she craved."

"… Listen, I want to help you get out of this place and get some rest…" I said, getting tired of all the loose ends bundling up, "But you have to tell me what was going on in there. One second it's all nice and dandy, next it's a bloody bloodbath. No one knows why!"

"It was always a bloodbath…" she said with a dark tone in her voice, "I'm… Tired of this. I will tell you what happened, b-but you have to promise to let me go once I'm done."

"You have my word" I said as a reflex, simply glad to finally get her talking. I had better things to be doing, rather than listen to a bunch of crazy occult rituals.

"OK, then" she said, "This is how it all happened…"


	3. Zerobi's Story

_From Life, Death._  
_From Death, Rebirth. _  
_From Rebirth, Life. _  
_But only outside of obscurity can you live for all eternity._

_And like the wind, I shall sweep the land forever._

* * *

I am Zerobi. I am also dead. But don't worry; I was able to douse myself in sufficient blood right before being killed. A Kojondo burned through my chest from behind with an Aura Sphere while I was fending off other assailants. I shall be paying him a visit soon to carve myself something to remember to watch my back more often.

... I'm bored. Are you a fan of the occult, by any chance? If so, do I have stories to tell you! Have you heard about a group called Evolution's Gate? I was a part of that, you know. One might even say that I was the founder and ringleader. But the truth is that I didn't create Evolution's Gate as much as it created itself - I was merely present and kept it running out of interest as to what would happen.

It all began in Cerulean City, where I lived most of my life. It was a peaceful city, but one that harbored many dark secrets. The greatest of these had to be the cave located in the city's outskirts, better known as the Cerulean Cave. The area to it was closed off by strong water currents as well as barbed wire, not to mention that it was also guarded by humans armed with very powerful Pokémon.

With a place like that just outside of town, you simply cannot stop rumors from spreading. The most famous one said that the cave was inhabited by criminal Pokémon, so powerful that all the safety measures were to keep them _in_ instead of keeping us _out_. My favorite rumor was that a genetic clone of the legendary Mew was housed in the cave, crushing anyone who dared to disturb his peace. Out of all these rumors, one thing was very clear - It was a place that no sane person would ever want to visit.

Luckily, I was not a sane person.

After years of scouting, I finally found a secret entrance through an old cave filled with water nearby. The pitch-black darkness underwater would deter even Water-type Pokémon from entering, but with my keen eyesight it was no problem. I tried to convince my classmates to come with me, but none of them would believe me. One night after school I was quite bored, and so I went inside the Cerulean Cave for a quick look.

As I broke through the surface at the end of the secret passage, I was met by disappointment. After all the legends and speculation, from what I could see it was just a typical cave. No heavy odors from big and powerful Pokémon, no rumbling in the ground from a portal to another world and no magic of the legendaries that would exceed one's ability of understanding. Nothing but dank air and rocks.

Plenty of dank air and rocks, to be precise. I wandered around for half an hour without finding anything but that. But such a well-guarded cave simply _had_ to contain some kind of mystery! Had the secret entrance led me astray, after all?

"I'm putting my life on the line for this?" I said out loud before shouting, "Hello! Is anybody there!" As expected, there was no answer, but after coming this far I decided not to return until I had explored the entire cave. I never got that far, since just a few moments after that I noticed that something was behind me. Worried that it might be one of the guards or someone that had followed me, I turned around quickly and yelled "Who's there!"

It was an Eevee, or rather, an Eeveelution. But it was nothing like I had ever seen before. Instead of fur, it had a body donned with rocks, with sharp edges sticking out of the sides. It reminded me of a suit of armor, the type that humans used to wear in the past. Its skin had a grey, brownish hue, and its eyes were black like a pair of onyxes. Onyxes that fixed upon me for about half a second before the creature took off.

"Wait! I'm not here to hurt you! Please!" I yelled, conflicted as to whether I should act harmless or just throw caution to the wind and capture it. The latter would have been a bad choice, as the Eeveelution suddenly halted and carefully looked back at me.

"T-That's right, I just want to…" I started, before the guide on how to act if you ever met a legendary Pokémon from one of the occult magazines popped up in my mind.  
"… My name is Zerobi." I said calmly, and extended my claws in a friendly gesture, "What is your name?"  
"…" the creature was silent, but then responded "Astrid" with a soft, weak voice.

"Astrid" I repeated, thinking that the guide was doing well so far, but I should probably cut out the whole "weaken it and throw a Pokeball" part of it. The magazine was written by and for humans, after all. We simply stood there and looked at each other for a while, and I started to fear that it might take off simply because of the awkward silence.

"You…" I said as softly as I could, "You are an Eeveelution, aren't you?"  
"Eevee… Lution?" Astrid repeated shakily, "No, I'm… Astrid."  
"What I mean is, you were an Eevee once, right?" I said, now having gained confidence after starting a dialogue, "You know, when you had brown fur and no rocks?"  
"Oh…" she whispered quietly, "Yes, I did… But how would you know that, outsider?"  
"Outsider?" I said out loud, finally deciding to see if my theory was right, "Let me guess -You have been living in this cave your entire life, right?"

Astrid looked visibly startled now.  
"Y-Yes, b-but how would you know that?" she stammered, not completely unlike another Eevee at my school. Speaking of which…  
"Oh, I have a friend just like you at my school!" I answered, "She's just like you! I mean, she's still an Eevee, but I'm sure she'd love to meet you!"  
"Really!" she exclaimed in joy, "Someone just like me? On the outside? She… wants to meet me?"  
"Definitively!" I responded.  
"Is… Is she cute?" she asked, and a bright blush appear on her face.  
"Oh, the cutest!" I said, far too exhilarated to realize that maybe Astrid wasn't female after all, "I'll bring her the next time I come here! Will you be here, too?"  
"Huh? I…" the peculiar creature hesitated, "Y-Yeah, sure! Of course I will!"  
"Great!" I said while curiously studying her, "In the meantime, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself…?"  
"M-Me?" Astrid said with a surprised look on her face, "I'm a regular Eevee, living here with my father… Or at least, until recently, he passed away." She looked down on the ground and let a strong sigh escape her lips.  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that" I said when an urgent question consumed my empathy, "Was he an Eevee like you?"  
"Y-Yes, but not like me" she said and looked up, "He was a Fire-type. He had really warm skin!" Must have been a Flareon, I thought to myself. I felt like asking her who her mother was, but realized that I had far too many questions to be covered right now. Besides, there was one person who just had to know about this.

I made Astrid promise to meet me at the secret entrance the next day, as I left. My heart was pounding so ferociously in excitement! My blood was rushing around my body like a rollercoaster! Finally, I had made a discovery of something no one would ever believe, and _what a discovery!_  
"Eeveelutions - Still Evolving!" I laughed to myself as I went back home and instantly fell asleep.

The next day, two creatures broke through the surface in the secret entrance - I, as well as my best friend Eve. She was a timid Eevee girl in my class who I tried to convince that there were more Eeveelutions than publicly known. She didn't believe me.

"S-So c-cold…" Eve shivered, "Y-You have to remember…" She suddenly went silent when she noticed there was a shadow of someone standing by the water.  
"Come on, don't be shy! Come closer and show yourself" I said, wanting to erase all doubt that this was a trick or joke of any kind. However, the shadow just stood there completely frozen.  
"H-Hello?" Eve said, "Are you, um… Astrid?"

There was no response, and I was starting to worry that something was amiss. I swiftly got out of the water and carefully approached the mysterious figure. Immediately I realized that the shadow was Astrid, and she was staring at Eve with such a bright blush on her face that I thought she was using Flash to light up the cave. I didn't know whether to sigh at the silliness or scowl at the stupidity, but I decided to be completely blunt.

"Eve… This is Astrid, a Bouldeon" I said, while getting behind Astrid and pushing her forward. After a quick glace downward, I suddenly realized that Astrid was definitively not a girl. I shuddered, and looked over at Eve. Her mouth as agape in shock.

"You… I… Are you for real!" she burst out in a manner that visibly embarrassed herself, "Wow! How did you evolve like that?"  
"Umm… I…" Astrid said in a low voice, "Hello…"  
"Did you find some kind of Rockstone, or wait, is that a disguise maybe?" Eve said while running up and started tugging at Astrid who flinched, "No! I can't believe it, but… How?"  
"Hehe, might want to be a bit careful there!" I said with a snicker, "But seriously, how did you become like that, Astrid?"

"I… Well…" Astrid said, starting to regain some degree of composure, "It happened right after I was eaten by a big Pokemon. Oh! It was a Rock-type, too."  
"Wait…" I interrupted in shock, "What?"  
"Oh!" Astrid said, "You see, there are some really mean Pokémon in these caves, and one day one of them picked a fight with me. Really strong, I was covered in sand and mud and rocks by the time it ate me."  
"But it didn't chew me… At least not all that much…" he continued with a bright smile on his face, "And when I was lying in its stomach, things got really violent! I was thrown around like crazy and heard a bunch of muffled sounds from the outside! Finally, everything stopped, and I could hear the heartbeat of the creature I was lying in slow down and then stop."

"It died?" I asked, and looked over at Eve who had the same face as when I had once done a quadruple somersault in gymnastics. A face of utter disbelief, that was.  
"Yeah, and whoever killed it started eating it" he said, "That was lucky, because there wasn't much air in the belly, and it started to burn a bit. Anyway, as I was lying there, I felt a tingling feeling on the inside as well. There was, like, a warm feeling all around me, and when I came to it, I was a Rock-type! Then, it was time for my daring escape! As soon as the light peered through, I wiggled out and made a leap for…"

Astrid didn't notice that Eve and I snuck away to have a private discussion.  
"Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh" Eve repeated while making tiny leaps, "It's real! It's really real!"  
"I told you!" I giggled, "You know what this means?"  
"We've discovered a new Eeveelution!" she exclaimed.  
"No… I mean, yes, but…" I said, trying to formulate my words right, "Don't you remember that article? About how Eeveelutions are still evolving?"  
"Huh?" she said while staring blankly, "No, not really…"  
"Come on…" I sighed, but quickly perked up again, "This is just one of many new Eeveelutions! He evolved without an elemental stone, Eevee **can** become any type they want to!"

"Um… _He?_" Eve said before shaking her head, "So what… You have to get eaten to transform?"  
"That sounds strange" I responded and thought for a bit, "Surely it shouldn't matter if you're in the stomach or on the outside. No, rather, I think it had to do with something else."  
"Like what?" Eevee asked.  
"Hmm… There were a lot of things going on in his story" I said while realizing that I had a perfect guinea pig right next to me, "They're worth a try… Oh, yes..."  
"W-Why are you looking at me like that…?" Eve said while taking a step back, "No way! I don't want to be swallowed alive!"  
"Come on, it's for the benefit of Eevee everywhere!" I said while approaching her slowly, "We'll just cover you in sand, maybe some rocks…"  
"Noooo!" Eve shouted and stumbled backwards, "I told you, I want to be a Vaporeon!"  
"Oh, right" I said with a whicker, "We could always feed you to a Gyarados, if that's what you want!"  
"We-We should contact the p-police about Astrid!" she stammered, "They'll know how to handle this!"

"NO!" I shouted while giving her a menacing look, "**Absolutely not!**" Finally I found something this exciting, a true secret of the world with limitless potential, and she wanted to hand it over to the bloody bobby?  
"We can't let them know about Astrid, or the humans will know too!" I said harshly while Eve cowered, "You know what they'll do to someone like him? They'll _cut him open_ to see what makes him tick, _set him on fire_ just to know if he burns and _puncture his eyes_ until they grow back, only to _puncture them again! _  
"ARGH! NO, PLEASE NO!" we heard Astrid scream from behind us. Apparently our shouting had snapped him out of his monologue coma.  
"Please, don't tell anyone about me!" he yelled as he ran up to us, true terror showing across his face.  
"OK, OK, I get it!" Eve said flustered, "I won't say anything! I mean, who would believe us about finding a… A…"  
"Bouldeon" I said, filling her in.  
"… Bouldeon?" she said with a sarcastic tone, "Really?"  
"What?" I responded, "All Eeveelutions end with -eon, right? Would you prefer Pebbleon, or Stoneon?"  
"Why not just go with Rockeon?" she asked, "Even Stoneon is better than Bouldeon!"  
"Oh!" Astrid said, "I'm a Flareon! My father used to say that all the time!"  
"No, you're not!" Eve snapped back while I said "Yeah, stay out of this!"

From that point on the three of us spent a lot of time together, talking about stuff and generally having fun. Astrid couldn't swim and detested the 'outside', so we came to visit him once or twice a week. This quickly turned into four times every week and then finally to the point where we went there more often than school.

One time when we met by the secret entrance, Eve wasn't alone.

"Who the heck are these two?" I asked, looking  
"Don't worry, they're cool" she said calmly, "They just want to see Astrid."  
"What the-" I stammered in disbelief, "You told them about our secret! What about the cutting open and the eye puncturing and…"  
"It's OK" she interrupted while the two Eevee she had brought with her looked nervous, "It's not like they can just say they went to the Cerulean Cave, anyway…"  
"But… That's…" I stuttered at a loss for words, "I mean, if they speak to a single soul about this…"  
"We won't!" the two of them chimed at the same time. It was so cute, even my heart melted at the spot.  
"I guess they can come tonight, but tonight only!" I said forcefully, "And if you don't swim, you drown. This will become highly relevant in a few moments." I looked over at the pool of water.

"Wait, uh… What was that about eye puncturing?" I heard one of the Eevee frightfully say, to which both me and Eve simply laughed.

Astrid was pleased to see new faces from the outside, even if they were always contorted in shock during the first few minutes. He definitively liked the attention. Every now and then there would be more Pokémon at the not-so-secret-yet-well-hidden entrance, wanting to meet Astrid or even me. Soon it was more like a secret club than a revolutionary discovery, and we would all have a lot of fun in the Cerulean Cave talking to Astrid, reading about the occult and experimenting with evolution.  
And that's how Evolution's Gate got started.

… Well, kind of. There is one more thing… OK, since you have listened attentively so far I will tell you, and _only_ you, about what happened to me three months after first meeting Astrid.

The few experiments we had conducted hadn't really gone that well. We covered one the Eevee in sand and rubbed it against a Rock-type Pokémon for a day or two, but it didn't work. I was distraught and a little bit disappointed that my plans of creating all kinds of Eeveelutions were shattered, and so I once again became rather bored. Astrid wasn't exactly the mysterious miracle of nature I had expected, and more of a naïve goofball.

"Hey, Astrid" I asked him one day after the others had left, "What's really in this cave?"  
"Huh?" he said, still flustered after getting his first peck on the cheek by a visitor, "Whaddaya mean?"  
"I know there's more to this cave" I said sternly, "You've lived here your entire life, what can you tell me? What's at the end of this swirling passage?"  
"Y-You don't want to go to that part of the cave" he answered with a frightened stare I hadn't seen in a while, "It's filled with Pokémon that are really mean, and really powerful!"  
"Like, the one that ate you?" I calmly said, to which he flinched.  
"Yes, like that one!" he said loudly, "Going there is suicide!"  
"Heh, according to most people, going _here_ would be suicide" I said and started walking down the passage.  
"No, wait! It's too dangerous!" Astrid said while making a jump clinging on to me, "I don't want to see you die!" I shook him off and turned around.

"Don't be such a baby!" I snarled, annoyed by the fact that my only discovery so far had been an utter coward, "I'm just going to take a look! Besides, I can handle myself in battle." With that, I resumed my journey into the unknown. I was half expecting him to try to stop me again, but instead he just remained where I had left him, probably in tears or something.

Déjà vu hit me like a rock and dank air as I was once again walking through an empty cave. However, unlike before this didn't culminate in finding a Bouldeon sissy. Little by little, the faint odor of other Pokémon began to infiltrate the air, and I realized that this cave was anything but empty. To be honest, I was starting to worry about what Astrid had said, but I was also too stubborn to turn back. And if I were to really find the legendary Mew or her genetic clone, that would show them all!

Then suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back as I was suddenly on the ground. Something fairly heavy was weighing me down, but before I could reach back it was gone. Looking up, I saw a Pokémon a few feet in front of me.

It was a Kadabra, a Psychic Pokémon. I quickly got up, and smiled to myself - No Psychic Pokémon could ever frighten someone of the Dark-type.

"Why did you do that!" I shouted at the assailant, "What do you want!"  
"Kadabraaa!" it shouted. Crap, repeating its name like that, it had to be completely feral.  
"Bastard, you wanna fight me!" I yelled as I ran towards him, "You're in for a lot of trouble!"

As I approached it, I could feel the ground shaking. I hesitated for a bit, but then threw my gloves away and quickly dashed at him to try to try to slash him with my claws. It took a quick step back, and dodged my attack. Furious, I swiped at him over and over with a barrage of cuts that would knock out most enemies even when the gloves were on. With what appeared to be a seamless movement, it every attack, before suddenly teleporting a few feet away.

"Not bad…" I whispered to myself, "But you won't be dodging these." I inhaled deeply to fill my cold sack, and shot hundreds sharp icicles at the Kadabra. The icicles covered the entirety of the cave, so it had no place to escape to.  
With a simple flick of its wrist, the Kadabra made every single icicle shatter and disappear.

"N… No way!" I said to myself, completely stunned. It was so powerful! My fastest attacks couldn't hit, and my strongest ability didn't even make it flinch. Instead, the Kadabra started floating in midair before unleashing a psychic attack against me. The ground behind me was razed by an unseen force as I was completely immune to the attack.

The Kadabra started staring at its spoon in disbelief. It must've never encountered a Dark-type before. Seeing this as my best chance, I ran away from it. All I wanted was to get away, to run back to Eve and Astrid and everyone else. I managed to make it about five feet before a blunt instrument hit me in the head and knocked the wind out of me. I fell over on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness.

I heard the psychic Pokémon approaching. Since it was feral I knew that murder, rape or both awaited me. Quickly realizing that I could attack him head on, I discretely inhaled and started freezing the ground in front of me. Slowly I crawled my way across it as not to raise any suspicion, until the Kadabra was within my reach. Without hesitating, I turned around and lounged at the Kadabra. It tried to dodge my attack, but slipped on the ground beneath it, and with the opening that was created I thrust both my claws into its abdomen. No matter how strong your psychic powers are, your body is still soft. I rejoiced as the Kadabra gasped loudly, and blood splashed over my arms.

That is when my life changed forever. A burning, yet pleasant sensation which stemmed from my arms and reached throughout my body, slamming my every nerve with pleasure on the way. The warm, dripping blood was no longer a source of revulsion in my mind, but rather the essence of joy. I felt it caress my skin, I felt it seep into me to soothe my pain, and I felt my body craving more.

The Kadabra took his turn as well, and flung a sharp rock with his psychic abilities which pierced my right leg. I looked down, hardly even noticing the pain before I lounged at him again, slicing through his ear and severely damaging his right eyeball. The creature howled and fell back, after which I lay on top of him and stabbed him repeatedly. His arms, his face… The brown parts were especially fun since they made a cracking noise after a while. Every plunge into his soft body supplied me with a shower of the splendid blood, and I was in ecstasy hours after the Kadabra had stopped moving altogether.

When the blood had dried and I was done, I felt a twinge of disgust. After all, I was lying on top of what could only be described as a pile of gory, completely unrecognizable from the living, breathing Pokémon that had once been there. But to be fair, the bloody thing attacked _me_! That would be me lying there if I hadn't done anything! Whether my actions were justifiable or not, one thing was clear - My life had changed forever.

Not only my life, but my body as well. Some of the blood that dried into my body remained red, and on that very day I noticed a new growth on my head. Under the duration of the following month, I evolved into a Weavile. Not only that, but I felt invigorated for weeks to come, and became noticeably more powerful. Not to mention that where the wound from the rock should have been, there was only a red patch which healed in a single day.

I wanted more. I **needed** more. The thought of locating hidden legends that had previously consumed my mind was ebbing away, and all I could imagine was a crimson shine covering my body once more. But how would I get it? I wasn't ready to throw my life away and go on a killing rampage, that was for sure. At least not at that point. And my friends… Would they understand? I was conflicted as to what to do, when I remembered something that I had thought before.

_A true secret of the world with limitless potential_

Perhaps I would be able to make something out of the discovery of Astrid, after all. Perhaps it was time to step up with the experiments. Perhaps the time had come to not only sate my curiosity, but also my thirst for blood.

Yawn… Now I'm getting a bit tired. No, I'm not going to die, silly. Rebirth is a tiresome thing, and I have a lot of things to do when I return to life. I think I'll take a break. When you're dead, I'll tell you the rest of my story. Until then…

* * *

_Author's Section  
_

"Question!" Zerobi asks while raising her claw, "The cliff notes called for me to say 'And like the wind, I shall sweep the land forever'. Must I remind you that I'm..."

A Dark/Ice Pokemon, yeah.

"Also, in character?" she says out of annoyance.

Do you know of the classic elements - Water, Fire, Wind and Earth?

"What, all that and no grass?" Snivy chuckles, having listened in on us, "Barbarians, the lot of 'em!"

Well, see, if you look at the cliff notes closely, you'll realize that Snivy's Story started in the rain, Eve's Story started with fire, and Zerobi's Story had her thinking of herself like the wind.

"What, really?" Zerobi says while looking confused, "You honestly believe anyone is going to catch that?"

Nope, not a chance.

"Then why the heck would you even..." she says while trashing about, "And what about the last one!"

What about what?

"Earth!" Zerobi shouts, looking irritated, "You left… Oh wait… The next cliff note is going to start with something involving Earth… That means it's got to be Astrid's…"

You figured it out? Good. Now, I can't let you spoil anything more, so I'll just edit out your next couple of sentences.

Also, it actually started snowing while I was writing this. In the middle of October. Creepy, huh?


	4. Ghost's Story

_GHOST_  
_appeared!_

_Darn! The GHOST_  
_can't be ID'd!_

* * *

...

"..."

Huh?

"… Alive! This one's still alive!"

… Urk. So cold. So noisy. Stay away.

"Get it to a Pokecenter, now!"

My head hurts… Shut up… Shut up…

"It's… It's impossible! Look at it! How is it…"

"I said, **SHUT UP!**"

Now what? Oh… I'm in a hospital somewhere…

"Hello? Can you hear me" a gentle voice stemmed from a bright light somewhere above.  
"Y-Yeah…" I said, and noticed the silhouette of someone standing over me.  
"Good. I'm afraid I have some bad news" The voice said concerned, "You will probably not live through the night."  
"Oh" I said flatly, having thought I was dead a few moments ago, "Bummer."  
"Indeed" the voice continued, "You seem to have lost your hind legs and front paw, and we can't really operate on you because…"  
"… Because?" I said, wondering why the hell someone would be hesitating when talking someone with less than a day remaining.

"… Because we have no idea what kind of Pokémon you are" the voice said while the silhouette started moving back and forth.  
"… Oh" I said while trying to remember the last couple of days, "That's… Understandable. I'm unique, after all."  
"We know" the voice quickly said, "And what you do with your remaining time is completely up to you, but if you could quickly tell us what led to your death in Evolution's Gate…"  
"I'm not dead yet, doc" I responded angrily, "Why can't you ask someone who's not on their deathbed?"  
"We can't" the doctor said in a remorseful way, "Because there's no one who isn't. Everyone's dying, and we have no idea what was going on in there."

"Fine, whatever" I said, "I wasn't far from killing myself anyway, after what went on in there. Guess I'll just die here instead, huh? Hahaha! Anyway, you'd better break out those painkillers when I'm done, always wanted to try those."

The doctor just stood there in silence.  
"… I'll take that as a yes. Well then, here's my story:"

The word about Evolution's Gate had been running among my friends for quite a while before I actually went there. Even for Eevees, there are those that want to evolve into an elemental type that would supposedly be possible. Imagine that, we've got all these choices already and we only want what we can't have! Pretty greedy, huh?

To be honest, I always wanted to be a Ghost Pokémon. I mean, they're awesome! You have almost no weaknesses, you get to fly around and you can even make yourself invisible or transparent! The only issue I've heard is that they easily frighten people, but a cute Eevee that just happened to be a Ghost-type? It's the best of two worlds!

So I went to one of their meetings, which I had found out about from a girl named Eve in my school. Two classes below me, but was apparently a big shot in Evolution's Gate. We went into the Cerulean Cave via a secret entrance, and there we met…

… No wait. The secret entrance was filled with water, so we had to swim and were quite cold when we got there. So we were given these black cloaks to wear to keep our warmth, and to conceal our identities. You know, if we wanted to jump ship and be able to deny having ever gone there. They were quite nice about that.

Anyway, inside the cave was a big room lit up by several candles, and a strange Pokémon in the ceiling with fire on its arms (The guy next to me said it was a Shandelea, but I had never seen anything like it before) which illuminated the cave. There, on some kind of altar, stood the leader of the whole organization - Zerobi. She was very beautiful, with a sleek body and gleaming claws that shone in the fiery light. Next to her was Astrid, a Rock-type Eeveelution.

I should probably mention that this was the whole point behind the organization - Creating the possibility for Pokémon to evolve into whatever type they wanted to. Apparently they had only had success with Eevees in the past, but anyone was welcome in to try.

When I first saw Astrid, it was quite a shock. She looked so much like a normal Eevee, but there was no doubt that she was a Rock-type. Just observing her felt like being back in the second grade and learning about the Eeveelutions all over again!

After the initial gasps and chatter had silenced, Zerobi gave a speech. I don't remember what she said that well, but it was something like "The time has come for evolution of the Eeveelutions", and it made us all very excited. Seeing the confident Zerobi standing next to a miracle among us Pokémon was an indescribable feeling. Our black cloaks were filling up with hope! It was like everything we had known was a lie, and everything Zerobi said was the truth!

Then, Zerobi pointed out one of the Eevees in a black cloak. She brought the nervous thing up on the altar and asked her what kind of type she wanted to evolve into.  
"Poison!" the little thing shouted, desperately trying to sound masculine. Couldn't have been over 5 years old.

"Is there a Poison-type among us today?" Zerobi then shouted, "Will you help this poor soul realize her destiny?" After a few moments, someone else in a black cloak stepped forward. A big, hulking figure, shaped like a Lucario but a bit shorter. I'm not that good with Poison-types. Then, Zerobi led the both of them into a part of the cave in the back, and the rest of us were ordered to leave. We were given the chance to come back later, with the chance to become 'chosen'. Actually, most of us just went there to catch another glance at the magnificent Astrid, so we could brag to our friends about it.

This was all kept secret, of course. The Cerulean Cave where we met was highly off-limits, and anyone claiming to have entered it was met with laughter or threats of imprisonment. I went there a twelve more times, until it was finally my turn to evolve.

The one who was pointed out was shaking his head. Apparently, he was only there to look at Astrid. The black cloaks next to him were coaxing him into doing it, but he flat-out refused.

"Don't worry, there's a right time for everything" Zerobi said after a while, "Work on your resolve and come back whenever you feel like it." She then looked over the audience once more, and suddenly pointed at me.  
"You there! Are you prepared?" she shouted, and my heart skipped so many beats I thought I was going to faint.

"Yes! Yes!" I yelled in joy, and ran up to the altar as quickly as I could. Once again I almost fainted when I looked out and saw all the Pokémon staring at me, and realizing that I was standing right next to Zerobi and Astrid.

"So… Do you have a type you wish to evolve into?" Zerobi asked, and I looked at her. She was smiling. Then I looked at Astrid. She wasn't.  
"Um… A Ghost-type!" I said, still looking at Astrid. She… Or rather 'He' was looking very sad for some reason. Was he tired, maybe?  
"Is there a Ghost-type among us today?" Zerobi then shouted, "Will you help this poor soul realize her destiny?" Hardly a second had passed before someone in the audience suddenly flew up to the altar.

"I'm impressed" the figure in the black cloak said, "Didn't think someone like you would want to join us." The cloak appeared to be covering a floating ball of some sort, and there was something purple and hazy leaking out from underneath it. Its voice was wheezy, and lacking in emotions.

"A-A Gastly?" I stammered, still in shock over this whole situation.  
"Indeed" the Gastly responded.  
"But… Aren't you a Ghost _and_ Poison type?" I asked, now feeling a bit concerned.  
"Do not worry child" I heard Zerobi say from behind me with a calming voice, "This will be fine. Now, come with me…" She signaled us to follow her into the room at the back, and we did so with the thunderous roar of the crowd behind us, all cheering for us and wishing us good luck. Behind us, I saw Astrid forcing a smile at me.

It wasn't as much of a room as it was a long corridor which stretched far into the cave. It was very straight, and I wondered if maybe it had been dug out by a giant Pokémon in the past. Zerobi was walking in front of me, and I was walking next to the Gastly. The Gastly… Well…

"Um…" I said after a few minutes, "How does it feel to be floating?"  
"Oh, you'll know that in a little while" the Gastly said menacingly, "Hehe, I guess I'll show you the ropes once you've evolved."  
"Why are you doing this?" I bluntly asked, more curious than tactful.  
"What, I need a reason to help out a fellow Pokémon?" the Gastly tittered, "I guess… I want to see how a Normal-type would react to becoming a Ghost-type, so that they can tell us how things are different and such."

I knew what the Gastly was talking about. Ghost-types are usually born that way, and never change. To this Gastly, knowing how it feels to walk was a greater mystery than any Eeveelution would ever be.  
"But more importantly" the Gastly continued with a smile, "I bet you'll look even cuter as a Ghost-type." Sadly, this sentence didn't have time to make an impact on me since we had finally reached the end of the corridor, which finally led us into a room.

An unfamiliar and slightly unpleasant smell hit my face as we finally entered a room in the cave. The room was fairly small, and the walls had a slightly different color than the rest. I'd describe it as a fire-ish hue, or perhaps a dark red tint. In one of the corners was a large rock with a flat top. It might have been my imagination, but the red seemed to be a bit stronger around that particular area.

"This is where your change will take place" Zerobi suddenly said, which made me jump a bit, "Don't worry. It might hurt a bit, but it'll be quick."  
Having heard that line before and never having anything good follow it, I hesitated. But when I looked behind me, I saw the Gastly nodding at with a broad grin on its face. Its wide smile almost covered its entire body, and I had to choke a quick giggle.

"Just lie on top of that rock, and we can get started" Zerobi said, while signaling over to the rock. I felt a bit more secure knowing that the Gastly was going to be with me, and my excitement over finally evolving quickly returned. I walked over to the rock and lay down on my back.

Zerobi then quickly approached me, and suddenly started breathing a white wind at me from her mouth. I was startled, and began panicking. But it was too late - My four legs had already been frozen solid!

"Don't worry" she repeated, "You need to be perfectly still if the evolution is to be successful. This will help you with that." It was very cold and the initial freeze stung a bit, but after that it was actually a rather soothing sensation.

Still, nervosity boiled in me like never before, and I started breathing heavily in an attempt to calm myself. I tried to look at the Gastly for reassurance, but I couldn't raise my head far enough.

"OK then, everything seems to be in order" Zerobi said with a cheerful voice I'd never heard her use before, "Let the transformation begin!  
"Excuse me…" I heard the Gastly say, "… But, uh, what am I supposed to do in all this?"  
"Oh, not much, really…" Zerobi responded in a flimsy way, "See, the thing about Ghost-types is that they're not actual 'Ghosts', but more like 'Gas'. They have no solid bodies… And therefore, no blood."

A scream echoed throughout the cave, and a sound like a rampaging Onix's cry followed.

"AAAHHHHH!" the Gastly shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP IT! STOP!"

I panicked again, and this time I made no effort to calm down. I twisted and wriggled furiously, but couldn't even budge. The ice was as solid as the rock it was frozen on.  
"Luckily, we Dark-types have a few tricks for dealing with your kind" I heard Zerobi say, but her voice was quickly drowned out by Gastly wails that became louder and louder.

"What! Like I'll let you… **GRAAAHHH!**" I heard the Gastly scream so loud that I felt the sound hit my stomach, "I-I'm vanishing! Help! Someone!"  
"Know that I take no pleasure in this!" Zerobi managed to shout down it, as the noise of a frightening moan filled the room. The feverish moan slowly turned into a high pitch, loud and sharp like a whistle. I tried to cover my ears, but couldn't move and started screaming as well. It felt like my head was going to explode.

And then, there was silence. Complete silence. My ears were ringing, and I was completely paralyzed from what had just happened.

"What the hell, I'm going to need earplugs in the future…" I heard Zerobi say after the ringing went down. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to do, I was just lying there like I was in a catatonic state.

Even when Zerobi brought one of her claws up to my throat, I didn't make a move… But I was staring at it. The edge was so sharp, I believe it was a few centimeters longer than my eyes could register.

"The problem if I cut here" Zerobi whispered in a chilling voice, "Is that you'll die too fast, and your blood will stop flowing…" I shuddered.  
"You'll stay alive for a long time, won't you?" Zerobi whispered before laughing, "Maybe I'll even let you go if you do! Anyway, I'd like some privacy with what I'm about to do, so if you'll excuse me…"

Slowly, I saw her move up against my face, and before I knew it her claw was aligned with my eyes.  
"N-No! Don't!" was all I managed to stammer before the claw dived into my very existence, and perpetual darkness seeped over me.

What happened after that is still a haze in my head. I only remember a few notable moments from what seemed to be weeks of blinded torture. I remember her cutting off my ears and taunting me, but I could still hear her somehow. At one point she cut a trail down my stomach towards my private parts, but she stopped right before them which made me thankful. I think she was on top of my all the time, but with the intense pain flowing through my every nerve it was hard to tell. Even a punch would have felt like a sweet caress at that point. The point I remember most vividly is the final plunge into my stomach, finally ending all the pain and letting me fade away into nothingness.

Nothingness I became, but apparently my life was not over yet. Slowly I began to regain my senses, as I felt myself lying down somewhere.

"You're awake! Come greet the new day!" someone said. As my vision came back, I noticed that I was still in the red room with Zerobi. Hastily, I scrambled away from her, noticing that something was very wrong.

"Wait, be careful…" she said while reaching out for me with those horrid claws.  
"No! DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed with a voice that sounded a bit deeper and wheezy than usual. I stopped myself, and looked down in confusion.

I was floating in midair.

But it was nothing like I had imagined, it was like I was really sitting on the air! Not only that, but my body was colored black, and felt really weird! Suspended in surprise, I felt my body change its form as a reflex and I fell down to the cold, hard ground.

"Haha, take it easy!" Zerobi laughed above me, "You had a nightmare, but look at you! You're a Ghost-type now!"  
My mind was still in shambles after what had been the most traumatizing event in my life, so I was just lying there, trying to collect my thoughts. One thing I noticed right away was the lack of pain, and it strangely made me feel empty inside. Although I had just tumbled against the floor, I had hardly noticed it.

At the time, I wasn't really sure what had just happened. I was a Ghost-type, I didn't have any wounds and I could see once again… Maybe it was all a dream? The Gastly left before it could 'show me the ropes', but it must have gotten tired of waiting while I slept.

Zerobi congratulated me and offered me a permanent seat in Evolution's Gate, which I accepted, still afraid to get on her bad side. I met Astrid not long after that, who turned out to be a really nice (if maybe a bit naïve) Pokémon, and the next night I was standing beside the two of them in front of a large crowd dressed in black cloaks. Everyone was in awe over my form, chanting my name in song. It felt good, really good.

In between the meetings I would practice moving in my new body, which was like learning how to walk all over again. Walking was rather easy in comparison, since gravity would always keep you attached to the ground. It took me three months to be able to move forward at a decent pace without phasing through the soil. Learning how to fight or defend myself was completely out of the question.

Things went on like this for a year or so. I had decided not to leave Evolution's Gate until I was completely adapt as a Ghost, and Astrid and Zerobi were a big help in the learning process. I even shunned my parents when they came to bring me back, promising that I would return to them once I was finished.

Now, I am finished. Ironic, huh? Or whatever the use of that word is… Doesn't matter to me, I'm dead in a few hours, anyway! Who's going to care about something like that? Geez, I really should've visited my parents when I had the chance, do you think we can contact them now? Like, now-now? I have some things I want to tell them. I'm a Normal-type turned Ghost-type, you know, a miracle of both science and nature! In fact, who says I'm even going to die? I'm a Ghost, ain't I! I died on that day in the red room, and have been lurking around here ever since. This is just some kind of silly dream I bet, soon I'll be back 'n rarin' on top of the world! I have a strong urge to fly to the top of some mountain, and then I'm gonna hover a few feet above the top, that's how on top of the world I am!

...

And here I am, immobile in a completely foreign place with tubes up places I didn't even know I had.

"Is there nothing you can do, doctor?" I whimper, starting to feel the cold hands of death around my neck.

"I can make you as comfortable as possible…" he starts.  
"No, like, operate?" I interrupt him hastily, "Some kind of human potion? Restore my health?"

"I'm afraid that…" he starts once again.  
"YOU'RE afraid!" I interrupt him once more, "Damn, I'm going to die, you'll just go home and drink some berry juice once I'm done here!" My chest felt a bit tighter than before.

"Calm down" he says with a sigh, "If you want to, we can get you some berry juice…"

"******** YOUR BERRY JUICE!" I scream while trying to get up and punch the bastard, but I am unable to move. The feeling in my chest was getting really tight now, almost to the point of hurting.

"You need to calm down, or you…" he says sternly, but I'm not listening.

"Goddamn it, I don't want to die!" I shout, "I have so much more to do, it can't all end h-"

Suddenly, the tightness explodes in a frenzy of pain, and I start twitching uncontrollably. I can't speak. I can't even breathe!

"Oh no, too late!" the doctor says, and starts pushing on me with big, brightly pink hands. I can't even feel them on my body.

What the hell is this! I'm really going to die! That sucks, it sucks so much! ******** you, Zerobi! ******** you, Astrid! If I die, I'll haunt you all!

Shit, I really don't want to die, please, won't somebody help me?

"Pulse is through the roof, get a Blissey in here!"

Gastly, where are you? Mom, Dad, I… I'll do anything; just don't let me die here among these strangers!

"Convu… The… S…"

Shit, everything's fading away, _I don't wanna die!_ I don't wanna die! I'll do anything, I don't wanna die… I don't… Want to… Die… I… Don't… don't… die

…

* * *

_Author's Comments  
_

"Ghastleon!" Eve shouts.  
"Halloweeon!" Zerobi shouts back.  
"How about Spectreon?" Astrid suggests.  
"People, people... Calm down" Snivy says with a confident smile, "We all know this new Eeveelution can have one name and one name only - Poltergeon."

They stare at him.

"You know... Poltergeist? Ghost? That movie with the evil clown that you know is going to become evil, but it doesn't until..." Snivy trails off, "... OK, Halloweeon it is."

This is stupid. Luckily, I have here, in these very hands, the illusive, magnificent and unparalleled artifact - The Sliph Scope!

"You mean Silph Scope, right?" Snivy says.

... Wait, that's how you spell it? That's how you pronounce it! I've been saying it wrong all my life!

"We don't care" Zerobi says coldly, "Does it work?"

Let's see... Put it on like this... Ah, there! It's now identified as... as... 'Marowak, the deceased mother of Cubone'... Wait, this can't be right...

"MARRR!" the Marowak shouts and lounges at Eve, knocking her out.

"YOWSERS!" Astrid yells while leaping out of the way, "What did happen!"

What the heck, why would it attack just because we identified it! It was so peaceful before!

*Bonk* OW! It's a Ground-type, right? Kill it, Snivy! Zerobi!

"Dude, we can't even see it without the Sliph Scope!" Zerobi shouts.

"Silph Scope! It's not that hard!" Snivy replies.

OK, screw this, RUN AWAY! RUN LIKE YOU RAN WHEN IT WAS RAINING, YOUR MOTHER BURNED UP, THAT KADABRA ATTACKED YOU AND YOUR FA*Bonerang'd*


	5. Astrid's Story

_Having been born in recluse, I find security in a cage. But can I truly live my life without the company of anyone else...?_

_Although one with the earth, I am a lonely, lonely soul._

* * *

I fled.  
It was the only thing I could do.

Oh, I should've known better than to meddle with outsiders! But boy, they sure are weird, aren't they? I mean, I'm no stranger to killing, but they seemed to enjoy it so much! I don't want to die, I can't hang around with people like that!  
Besides, those 'po-lice' looked awful strong, luckily I can hide out in this cave and hope they don't find me… And when I don't want to be found, I won't be found.

… Well, an exception should be made for that first outsider I met, Zerobi. But I was just curious as to how she got in! She seemed so nice at the beginning, and she brought lots of friends. Then one day, she wants to go explore the cave, and I told her not to, but I'll be damned if she cared. When she comes back, she's walking funny and was all covered in blood.

"Oh my!" I shouted in concern, "Are you OK!"  
"Better…" she whispered, "… Better than OK"  
"What happened?" I asked, wondering if the blood on her was really hers.  
"I…" she started, ignoring my question, "I think I found a way to get that evolution thing going."

"Evol… Oh!" I said out loud, "You mean, like me? T-That thing that ate me wasn't s-still lying around, r-right?"  
"Huh?" Zerobi said as if she had just come out of a daze, "No, didn't see nothing like that… But… We've got a lot of work to do, and when we're done you'll have a lot more friends."

"Really? Yay!" I exclaimed. I like friends. More like 'liked' them, really. Anyway, after that, things went from somewhat strange to really weird. Zerobi would bring a bunch of black cloaks from the outside that were wet from the passage and had to be dried off. Then she instructed me to stand next to her on top of a rock in the party room. Not long after that, several new Pokémon would come to my cave, all wearing those cloaks.

These new friends really liked me. They would stare, gasp and almost faint from the moment they saw me to when they would have to leave. Oh! Yeah, Zerobi would point out one of them, and take them to a private room in the back where she would help them 'evolve'. She would spend hours in there, and then return alone, having evolved the others.

One night, I got curious and went after them when some time had passed. I had never seen an evolution before, well, except for mine, but I was half unconscious back then. Besides, apparently mine was unnatural or something. Never quite got that part.

Before I could even see the room in back, I could hear it - Screams. Cries. Silent at first, but ear piercing as I got closer.

**"AHHHH! NOOO!" **

A horrible stench was leaking throughout the cave, like blood mixed in with something thicker, and nothing like I had ever smelled before. I tried to hold my breath, but it was all around me!

**"KILL ME! LET ME DIE!"**

But impervious to terror, I braved my senses and ran into the room where… Where… Uh…

… OK, if I'm to be completely honest I never saw what was going on in there, because I ran away. Oh, I was _so scared_! My heart was pounding like an angry Graveler, and my head was swimming in terror! I thought Zerobi was dying, but I still ran away! I stopped outside the end of the corridor, where I caught my breath and struggled not to run away deeper into the cave and vanish forever.

I knew something was wrong, and I decided to go back. But my legs just wouldn't move… Every time I stared into the corridor, I felt like I could somehow hear the faint cries from the room, and smell the stench all around me once more. I stood there frozen for… Oh, I have no idea how long, but a really long time when Zerobi finally appeared in the corridor.

"Z-Zerob-bi!" I stammered, "Y-You're alive!" Zerobi flinched quite a bit when she heard me.  
"Uh… A-Astrid?" she stammered back, "You're here?"  
"Oh, thank goodness you're OK!" I shouted and ran up to her, "There were a bunch of cries and blood and stuff in the room you were in…" As I got closer, I noticed that she was covered in blood, like that time she went to the deeper parts of cave.

"You… Where did all that blood come from?" I asked as I remembered something, "Wait, what happened to the Eevee and Flying-type that came with you?"  
"I… I had them evolve, of course!" Zerobi said with a big smile, "I told you I found a way to do it, but it gets me covered in blood…"

We both stood in silence for a while, as I felt terror once again well up in my body.  
"… Their blood?" I asked, breaking the silence. Zerobi sighed, and walked closer to me. My instincts told me to run, but my mind wanted me to stay with my friend.  
"You seem quite confused, Astrid" she said calmly, "But nothing 'bad' was going on. Why don't you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what really happened?" I hesitated at first, but then told her about the cries and the stench…

"Hmm, yes, I can understand why you're confused…" she responded after I had finished my story, and although she looked serious I could see the faintest of smiles on her face, "The evolution process is a bit messy and painful, but harmless."  
"… Where are they?" I asked while fearing the worst, "Why aren't they with you?"  
"Ah, they already left through a secret passage in the back" Zerobi said before noticeably getting a darker tone in her voice, "If you're that worried, we could go back and take a look…"

"No, that's OK" I said, only now realizing how narrowly I avoided getting killed, "When will they come back?"  
"Probably not for a while" Zerobi said with a concerned look, "The ritual failed, and the Eevee couldn't evolve. They really have to reason to return…"

I honestly don't know what the big fuzz is about that whole evolution thing; I don't feel that different from when I hadn't evolved. Actually, scratching places was a bit easier before I had these pointy rocks sticking out of me. But both Zerobi and that cutie… Uh… Oh, Eve! Yes, Eve too thought it was a magnificent thing. I'm going to miss Eve, I think. She didn't do all that weird stuff Zerobi was up to, but just wanted to see me. I really liked her. I wonder, did she like me too…?

Oof! Out of all the friends that would come and like me every night, why would I focus on the one that I'm not sure about! Stupid, stupid me… But… I really wonder if she made it out OK. Did she escape Halloween? Maybe I should've brought her with me… Damn, I bet she was killed right after I left her… How could I! I'm such a coward!

No, it wasn't my fault… It was all Halloween's fault! They said it was a night of unimaginable terror, yet no one did anything about it! And then they acted all surprised when everything went to hell… Crazy, inane outsiders!

Apparently, Halloween is something that happens on the sixth day of autumn. I don't know what an autumn is, but Zerobi once told me that there were powerful Psychic-type Pokémon that could predict the future on the outside.  
However, instead of doing something reasonable like fortifying our defenses, she wanted us to have a big party at my cave! Sure, we hadn't had a party for a while, but could she possibly have picked a worse night?

That morning, Zerobi and Eve came by. Eve hadn't visited a lot lately, so this made me happy.  
"Gear up, Astrid! We're having a party, remember?" Zerobi giggled joyfully, "We haven't had one in such a long time, thought we'd give ourselves some celebration for doing such a good job!"  
"Yay! A party!" I exclaimed, before getting a bit worried, "Will you be evolving anyone tonight, Zerobi?"  
"… No, I think we'll save that for our normal routine" Zerobi said, still in an unusually cheerful mood.

"Hmm, but this place is really a drag, isn't it?" Eve suddenly said which made my heart sink, "Too bad we couldn't bring any decorations without getting it ruined in the water."  
"Oh!" I said as I thought of something, "Why not use the secret passage in the back of the cave?"  
"Secret… Passage…?" Eve repeated in confusion, and Zerobi started laughing.  
"No, that would be a very bad idea!" she said.  
"Oh…" I muttered to myself, sad that I hadn't been of any help.

"Listen, people are going to be dropping in any time now" Zerobi said triumphantly, "We need to tidy this place up a bit!"  
"Uh… How?" Eve asked, "It's a cave, and we don't have any decorations…"  
"Oh, I'm sure there's something we can to make this all cleaner" Zerobi chuckled, "I'll handle the back room while you two get working here!"  
"Yeah! Wait, why bother?" I said without thinking, "I thought we weren't going to use the secret passage?"  
"It never hurts to keep the place clean" Zerobi said, but in a sterner voice than before, "Uh… You know… Right before Halloween."

Zerobi then quickly left, and Eve and I were left alone.  
"Now what…?" Eve mumbled, and I didn't know what to say. I was confused at first as to why Zerobi had been so eager to get away, but then it hit me - It must've been to make sure I would be alone to spend some quality time with Eve!  
"Hehe…" I snickered to myself, overflowing with happy feelings.

"You too!" Eve suddenly burst out, "What's happened, why have you two become so creepy!"

Ouch. Those words felt like not an ounce under a ton of bricks smacked me in the face.  
"C-Creepy…?" I repeated in shock, "… M-Me?"  
"Well, not compared to Zerobi, at least…" Eve said with an annoyed huff, "I have no idea what's gotten into her."  
"Uh…" I said, trying to come up with a comeback to change the subject from my apparent creepiness, "Lots of blood, I think."

"Eh?" Eve said, looking right at me.  
"Oh!" I said as embarrassment filled me up to the brim, "It was a joke, but I guess you wouldn't know, since you weren't here when she was all covered in blood, which makes the joke a bit of a-a failure, now that I think about it, don't really know why…"  
"Wait, stop for a moment" Eve abruptly interrupted me, "Blood? Covered in it? Zerobi…?"  
"Yeah, you know, after the evolution…" I said, again trying to cover up for my stupid behavior, "The, uh… When she helped those Eevee evolve."

Eve stared at me blindly for a moment. I moved from side to side, but her eyes didn't follow, as if she was staring into space.  
"This is…" she mumbled while shaking her head, "Naw, this has got to be a mistake, there's no way… But still…"  
"Astrid!" she suddenly snapped while fixing her eyes into me, "You have to tell me!"  
"T-Tell you what?" I asked, slightly taken aback.  
"Everything!" she continued, "You know I haven't been around here that often, you have to tell me what Zerobi has been up to!"

And so I told her what I had told Zerobi earlier about the back room with the screams and the smell…  
However, Eve's reaction to this was quite the opposite of Zerobi's serene tranquility.

"W-What!" she shouted in surprise when I was done, "This can't be true! You've got to be kidding!"  
"No, uh, I was kidding about the 'lots of blood' thing…" I said, seeing if she would finally get the joke, "The rest is real."  
"Astrid, don't you understand what this means!" Eve wailed in desperation before she moved closer and started whispering, "_We have to get out of here!_"

"EVE! ASTRID!" we heard Zerobi's voice echo from the back room, making Eve flinch, "I NEED SOME HELP, COULD YOU TWO COME BACK HERE?"  
"Coming!" I shouted back, only to be tackled by Eve and pinned to the ground.  
"Are you crazy!" she hissed, "She's gonna kill us!"  
"Ow! Why're you…" I said, startled that she was able to knock me over so easily, "No she won't, I've already evolved, and you don't have a Water-type with you…"  
"Idiot!" she shouted harshly back at me, "Three Pokémon enter a room, one leaves covered in blood? There's no secret entrance! She's killing them!"  
"Oh, come on" I snickered, "Why would she do that? That's just silly."

"No… It's true…" I heard someone say, but it wasn't me and it wasn't Eve. Eve jumped off me and looked around her in a haste, but saw nothing.  
"In here…" we heard the voice again, but this time we noticed that it was coming from the ground, "Wait, I'll come out…" Suddenly, a strange apparition floated up from under the ground and hovered in front of us, causing both Eve and I to squeal in terror.

It was the Ghost-type Eeveelution that Zerobi presented me to some time ago. It looked weird, and I couldn't even tell if it was a boy or a girl! It could also move through walls like they weren't even there, and so it kept to itself a lot, rarely showing itself. It felt a bit scary, knowing that someone might be right there inside one of the wall, watching you at all times.

"That's… That's exactly what happened to me!" the ghost said, contorting its face in strange ways.  
"Uh… Y-Yeah!" I said while feeling very uneasy, "T-There you have it, proof that Zerobi's helping Eevee evolve…"  
"No, you fool!" the ghost blared deeply, "The other thing! That bitch cut me into pieces!"  
"Um, excuse me, but…" Eve said slowly, "… What are you?"  
"I was an Eevee, just like you!" the ghost wailed sadly, "Zerobi took us into that room and bathed herself in my blood!"  
"Us? So there was ano-" Eve said, but stopped herself as she heard footsteps from the back room. As Zerobi was approaching, the ghastly Eeveelution suddenly sunk into the ground and disappeared. Both Eve and I wished we were able to do the same.

"Geez, you two make Slowpokes look eager for a raise" Zerobi said while giving us a nasty look, "Why didn't you come help? What're you doing here?"  
"W-We thought we heard some guests arriving!" Eve responded quickly, "We were going to greet them!"  
"Guests? This early?" Zerobi said with skepticism, "… Oh really? In that case, where are they?"

Before we could come up with a better excuse, we heard a splash from the secret entrance.  
"BoOOoOOo-" a Lopunny spluttered with exhaustion, before entering a coughing fit. A Buizel surfaced right next to her.  
"Told ya it wouldn't work" the Buizel said with a sneer, "Sorry 'bout my friend, she's a wee loopy." The Buizel stared at us in awkward silence.  
"This is where the party's at, 'ight?" she said. I looked over at Eve and Zerobi in doubt, but then we all started laughing. The heavy air lifted from around us.

"Yes, yes it is!" Zerobi said brightly, "Welcome!"

It was the best party ever. I would have expected things to be a bit slow at first, but the moment the guests saw me they all crowded around me, wanting to talk. I had to stop them from touching, since they easily hurt themselves on the sharp rocks sticking out of me. Some Water-type Pokemon had managed to bring in sweet drinks and something called 'snacks', that…

… Sorry, I just realized that I only got to try 'snacks' once, and now I'll never get the chance to again. Ever. Oh man.

Anyway, later the atmosphere got a bit cooler, and we all sat around telling each other stories. We made a contest of who could tell the best story related to the occult, and most of them were geared towards Halloween. While I was intrigued at first, I couldn't believe how many horrible things happened on this night! Murders! The living dead! One story was about four friends actually _celebrating_ Halloween in a house somewhere in the woods… No wonder bad things happened! Those ghosts were so creepy! Another one was in some place called 'Lavender Town', where the dead came to life! I noticed that Zerobi loved this particular story, having a broad smile on her face the whole time. Not wanting to be the only one scared in the group, I quickly made up a story about a scared Eevee being eaten alive, but… It didn't fly over that well. They mostly thought it was silly.

They didn't have time to dwell on it, however. We heard a few splashes from the secret entrance, and Zerobi got up to greet the new arrivals.  
"POLICE!" a deep and loud voice echoed, which made us all freeze in our tracks, "NOBODY MOVE!"

I thought it was another prank like the Lopunny had pulled earlier, so I started laughing a little. Suddenly I noticed that unlike before, I was the only one _not_ scared.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Zerobi said in a very matter-of-fact voice.  
"You kids shouldn't be here" one of the new arrivals said. It was a tall Pokémon, with white skin and green hair on its head.  
"This area is dangerous! All of you, return to your homes, now!" another one said. It was also tall, but it had green skin and a long neck with leaves protruding out of it. To my surprise, everyone groaned and got up as to leave.

"Wait, don't go!" I said loudly, "We were having so much fun!"  
"S-Sir…" the third new arrival said, while pointing at me with its claws. It was short, had brown skin and lots of sharp rocks on its back. Kind of like me!  
"Slash, are you ever going to…" the white one said angrily before seeing me, "Oh my…"  
"Are you Zerobi!" the green one yelled, looking directly at me.  
"Huh? No!" I said, having been startled by the green one's loud voice, "I'm Astrid! That's her, over there!"  
"Yes, that would be me" Zerobi said with disdain in her voice.  
"Zerobi, you are to take us to what is known as 'The back room'" the white one said while looking down at her. The brown one was still staring at me.  
"Certainly, right this way…" Zerobi said with a smile and then looked over at me, "Astrid, won't you join us?"  
"Y-You want me to come, too…?" I asked, and started to worry.

Eve said something about Zerobi wanting to kill me, but she had been so nice up until now! She was my very first friend! But even that ghost thing hated her, was I missing something? I looked around trying to find Eve to get some advice on what to do, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Oh, what was I to do!

"O-OK, I'll come too" I finally said. I didn't want to be left alone with these staring po-lice, anyway. Zerobi started walking towards the back room and I followed her, and to my surprise the po-lice followed her as well. I didn't want to back out, and I decided that my trust in Zerobi was stronger than my fear.

"Is that a Halloween costume, or…" the brown one said after staring at me for a while.  
"Costume? Uh, no…" I replied. These po-lice seemed to wield big authority, so I tried to give them a compliment to get on their good side.  
"Um, I really dig your backrocks!" I told the brown one, "Much bigger than mine!" He just looked at me funny.  
"So, what about the kids?" the green one said to break the silence, "We're going to leave them behind?"  
"They got here; they can get out of here" the white one said confidently, "What, you want to book them for being mischievous on Halloween?"  
"This place is dangerous!" the green one said, "If they don't learn their lesson, they'll be bac before you know it!"  
"Excuse me, but…" I corrected them, "It's only dangerous if you go into the deep cave. Ask Zerobi, she knows!"  
"Be quiet, Astrid" Zerobi snapped at me with an angry tone.  
"S-Sorry…" I said, wondering why I had even agreed to come. The po-lice were staring at me, Zerobi was mad at me, how could this possibly get any worse!

We finally got to the end of the corridor, where the tiny room was. Both the smells and screams that were usually there were gone as we entered it. The room was like any other room in the cave, although I could've sworn that the walls were somewhat redder than the rest. In the room was nothing but a rock with a flattened top.

"What kind of place is this…?" the green one asked himself, while lightly touching the walls.  
"You know what it said" the white one told the green one, "Push the wall behind the rock."

The green one never got to respond, as his head flew off his body and cracked open against one of the walls, splattering his brains everywhere. In the flash of an instant, Zerobi had leaped at him and decapitated him.

"Shit, stop her!" the white one yelled, before ducking to avoid another swipe from Zerobi. He then tried a psychic attack, but it failed as Zerobi quickly ripped his stomach open. At the same time, she was tackled from behind by the brown one, covering the two of them in the fountain of blood spraying from the green one's collapsing body. The brown one hit her repeatedly with its claws, but was caught off guard as she turned around and froze him with her breath. Before he could turn solid, she slashed his throat with her claw. The white one was still screaming, trying to keep his innards from falling out.

I couldn't move. I was terrified beyond anything I had ever been before. Mere words cannot describe the confusion and fear I was experiencing at that point.  
"Zerobi, I don't think these Pokémon wanted to evolve…" I whimpered pathetically. Zerobi then did a backflip to the green one, stabbing through its throat and silencing it forever.

"Curses, how did they know about the secret passage…!" Zerobi screamed to herself before looking at me, "We have to get rid of the bodies, give me a hand!" I was frozen as she picked up the body of the still twitching brown one, hauling it over to the rock and leaning it against the wall. To my surprise, the wall gave way, revealing a secret area that the brown one fell into.  
"No!" I yelled as I ran towards him to stop his fall, but stopped dead when I got closer to the secret passage and looked down into it.

Down in the cave was a pile of dead Pokemon. Large Pokémon and small Pokémon of every type were thrown together in a mountain of gore, none of them being fully intact with most of them missing a limb or two. Limbs that were scattered around the rotting corpses.

The stench was so bad, I reeled wildly and fell on my back, right next to the smashed head of the green one. I screamed at the top of my lungs, as Zerobi picked up the head and threw it down the shaft.

"You always were a spineless coward, Astrid" Zerobi said darkly, "What, this scares you? Are you scared of me now?"  
"Y-Y-You…" I stuttered like never before, trying to collect my thoughts, "Y-You killed them all!"  
"YES!" she shouted in anger, "YES I DID! So what! By doing this, I can live forever! I have found myself both eternity and divinity, all for the simple price of blood! It might seem unethical, but don't even try to say that you wouldn't do the same if you could! People die every day, if some of them are sent a bit earlier in order to shape a goddess, is it not justifiable?"

I could not believe what she was saying. I wanted to run, to get away from this monster that I had once called a friend.  
"Damn it, I have to get away from here!" Zerobi shouted at me, "Come with me!"  
"No!" I shouted back, "You know I can't swim! Besides, you're… You're… Evil!" Numbed with terror, I started crawling away as I heard her creeping up behind me.  
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" I yelled in desperation.  
"Sorry, but I can't let you live now that you know the truth" Zerobi said with a chilling voice, "I'll make it quick, consider it a farewell gift!"

I heard a loud noise behind me, and quickly turned around. All I saw was a black haze, through which I saw Zerobi fly back.

"Zerobi, I can't…" the ghastly Eevee said, "No, I _won't_ let you kill any more innocent Pokémon!"  
"You…" Zerobi said while standing up and shuddering a bit, "You told them? After all I did for you…"  
"You ****ing killed me, bitch!" the ghost bellowed, "Between the two of us, YOU are the freak!"  
"Huh. I guess I'll have to finish the job, then" Zerobi muttered while walking towards us, "As you probably remember, we Dark-types have a few tricks for dealing with your kind."  
"_Run, you idiot!_" a voice echoed in my head, "_She's gonna kill us!_"

And ran, I did.  
It was the only thing I could do.

"Oh, such a shame that you no longer have any blood!" I heard Zerobi's voice chime behind me, "You were the best, baby!"

I should've known better than to deal with outsiders! Among them, it's like I don't understand anything! I've killed before, but not like this. Between Zerobi and the po-lice, does my life have any value at all? Would my death change anything? It doesn't matter, dying is a terrible thing and I don't want to be a part of it!

I have finished running, and now I shall remain hidden. I know this cave better than anyone, so they will never find me. But… Now what? What happens? Who else did Zerobi kill? Did Eve survive? That ghost, is it still here with me, hiding behind one of the walls? Maybe it's in the wall in that other room, or maybe… The ceiling! I want to go check, but what if they find me…?

I know I shouldn't worry about it, but I have no one to talk to about this anymore. I feel safer alone, but… It's really boring! Although it was scary and dangerous, I really enjoyed my time with those outsiders. Especially Eve…

… Maybe I'll check back on the entrance every now and then, in case she decides to come back… Oh, Eve, I'll be waiting forever!

* * *

_Author's Lair_

... And that's the end of that chapter.

"Oh! It was so suspenseful!" Astrid chimes, "I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!"

"Ugh, you're too naive, Astrid" Snivy says with a bleak face, "It was all written in past tense, right? That way we know the person retelling the story won't die."

Oh yeah? Well then, what about that character-I-purposely-never-give-a-name-and-it's-driving-me-crazy? You know, Halloweeon?

"Oh god, we're not going with that name, are we?" Snivy says while smacking his forehead, "OK, at least we know they won't die until they reach the end of their story."

... Hmm, I see your point. And, as chance would have it, the next chapter will mark the story's end. I won't be writing it from any particular character's point of view, so, you know, anyone might die.

"Y..." Eve stammers with tears in her eyes, "Y-You're going to kill us off...?"

Oh, come on, don't make me justify it like some crazy serial killer. If the story wills it, you will die. All of you, if necessary.

"You're not going to write my death in the next chapter, are you!" Astrid shouts in panic.

Oh, no, no, no... Well, you won't be appearing in the next chapter.

"W-What!" Astrid cries.

You got your closure... Kind of... Anyway, you might still die, though. Maybe I'll even make it off-screen to REALLY piss people off.

"Oh, ****** you **** ****, in your **** **** with **** thirty ****!**" Astrid roars in rage.

Yow, geez! Never knew you had it in you! I'm going to have to censor all that, you know!

"This is getting out of hand" Zerobi mutters, "By the way, those stories they had in the contest in the cave? They sounded awfully familiar…"

Uh, yeah, sharp eyes. Hmm... If it's a character, it's called a 'cameo'. What's it called if it's a story?

"Plagarism?" Zerobi snickers.

Hey, shut up! You're going to get me into trouble, talking like that! This highly entertaining segment is over!

... Now let's get working on making that last chapter a real blast!

"Of course!" Eve says.

"I'm here if you want me to..." the ghost Eevee sighs.

"Finally time for the big climax, eh?" Snivy mumbles.

"I'm behind you all the way!" Umk chuckles.

"Time for history to be made!" Zerobi shouts.

"**I'M NOT EVEN IN IT, DAMN IT!**" Astrid cries.


	6. Story's End

_Survival is the most basic instinct. Some might not make it through the day, while others aim to live forever._

_The story will end_  
_But life goes on_

* * *

As Snivy exited the detention cell, he immediately wished he hadn't as the pungent stench of Umk once more filled his nostrils. He knew that as a Grass-type he would find the Muk especially repulsive, but was skeptic as to what there could possibly be to like about an animate pile of purple sludge.

"Crazy. Bonkers. Loony…" Snivy said to Umk while waving his arms around, "… Deluded. Confused. Addled. Do you want me to go on?"  
"No, that'll do" Umk chuckled, "But you sure spent a lot of time in there for a nutcase."  
"What? Her story was pretty good" Snivy responded, "If she gets over all of this she could turn it into a novel or something."  
"So, what's your plan?" Umk said before pausing for a cough, "Do we keep her, or…?"  
"First of all, never cough. You're poison. It stinks" Snivy said with a disgusted look, "Second of all, we let her go. She's harmless, and maybe she'll come around after a good night's sleep."  
"Geez, that's so nice of you, Smugleaf!" Umk said happily.  
"I know I will…" Snivy yawned to himself before turning around to leave.  
"Oh, wait!" Umk said while reaching out to stop Snivy, who swiftly dodged his touch, "I forgot! You have to see this!"

Umk pointed over to a very short desk, where some papers and pictures were scattered. Unlike most of the room, this area was very clean since Snivy had restricted Umk from ever going there.  
"… You didn't put those there, did you?" Snivy said, looking worried.  
"No worries, no worries!" Umk chuckled, "But look at the picture on top! Cool, huh?"

Snivy approached his desk and looked at the picture that was on top of it. The picture was of a Pokémon lying in a hospital bed, but it was like no Pokémon he had ever seen before. It looked like an Eeveelution, but its skin was pitch black and kind of hazy. It had no legs, and its face was contorted in a way that made it look a bit like a Gastly. The caption said "Unknown victim".

"… Cute" Snivy said jokingly after a while, "Who was listening and who came up with this? The guys down at D.A?"  
"Oh, no, this is part of the investigation" Umk said with a smile, "Weird, huh?"  
"Don't screw around with me!" Snivy said while turning around and giving him an angry glare, "You'll regret it! Now, who made this photo!"  
"Whoa, what are you talking about!" Umk shouted as he started panicking, "It's a picture of one of the victims from that cult thing, it's dead now and that picture is directly from the Pokecenter downtown, no one's trying to play you, boss!"

Snivy dropped his glare, and stared at the picture once more. His look became more and more concerned as time passed.  
"It… It fits the description" he said with a deep sigh after a while, "It fits it perfectly."  
"Fits what?" Umk asked, letting his panic be replaced with confusion.  
"Come with me, Umk" Snivy said as he opened the door into the detention area, "Things just got very interesting."

Eve flinched as the door suddenly flew open, and two figures entered. The first she could identify as the lizard that had questioned her earlier, but the other one…  
"Eve, I'd like you to meet officer Umk. He's nice, but do resist any urge to hug him" Snivy said before she could dwell any longer and then held something in front of her face, "I'd like you to take a look at this picture and tell me what you see."

"That's… That's that Ghost-type Eevee I told you about!" Eve said almost immediately, "Is it OK?"  
"It's d…" Snivy started, but trailed off and interrupted himself, "… Unimportant. Anyway, funny thing, this picture was taken an hour ago, yet you described this completely new species of Pokémon after being locked in here all night. How is that?"  
"I-I told you!" Eve said with surprise, "It was with Zerobi, and Astrid said it evolved through a Gastly!"

For the first time in his life, Snivy was at a loss for words. Surely this inane story about ritualistic sacrifices and impossible evolutions could not be true, yet right in front of him was proof that a Ghost-type Eeveelution had recently been discovered, just like she had said. Did that mean everything else was true, too? Had he been too jaded to see the truth that was right in front of him all this time? Or is he now being tricked by an elaborate prank or fantasies of some deluded teenager?

"… Eve, do you remember that article you talked about earlier?" Snivy finally said while looking away.  
"Uh… Eeveelutions - Still Evolving?" Eve said with a confused look on her face.  
"Yes, that's the one" Snivy responded before looking straight at her, "Do you still have it?"  
"Yes, at home… Unless anything's changed…" Eve answered and became concerned, "… What do you want it for?"  
"Nothing special" Snivy said quickly, "I just want to test your memory, if that's OK."  
"… If I get to go home, fine" Eve said with a sigh.  
"OK then" Snivy said as he went to the exit, "Show us where your house is, don't try any funny business, yadda yadda. Umk, get dressed."  
"Aw, but it's raining!" Umk whined before approaching Eve, who quickly scuffled away.  
"Everyone needs a breath of fresh air every now and then" Snivy said with a wry smile, "Which is why YOU should LEAVE so everyone here can have one."  
"N-No, I'll walk on my own…" Eve said, having scuffled halfway across the room to avoid Umk.  
"Fine…" Umk said, having gotten into a foul mood all of a sudden "You watch over her, Smugleaf."  
"OK. Funny business, yadda yadda, let's go!" Snivy shouted loudly before the three of them left the room to go to Eve's home.

Even though the moon had finally shown itself, the rain hadn't let up one bit. Not willing to delay, Eve led them on Route 5 towards her home in Cerulean City. Apart from the three of them, they didn't see a single soul outside. Those that weren't averted because of the storm were behind locked doors or in burrows after the news of the massacre at Evolution's Gate spread. Centuries of stomped ground paved the road, and large rocks were scattered randomly on the side. They loomed ominously over them in the dark of the night.

Snivy and Eve walked naked as usual, but Umk was wearing a bag over him to shield him from the downpour.  
"Um… Mr. Umk?" Eve said after a few minutes, "Why are you wearing that?"  
"Hehe, 'Mr. Umk'" Umk repeated, having seldom gotten to taste authority despite being a police officer, "The water seeps into me and changes my consistency. It makes me queasy."  
"… That is by far the most disgusting thing I have ever heard" Snivy said out loud, wobbling a little and stepping in a puddle.  
"What?" Umk said, "Just because I'm not weak against it doesn't mean I don't hate water… Or showering… Or bathing…"  
"No, shut up!" Snivy said angrily, "No one wants to know! Hasn't this girl been through enough without you disclosing your ability to make people faint with aroma alone!"

They all got quiet, although Umk mumbled something to himself about how he once defeated a rampaging Rhydon that way. Eve looked at the two of them, and could tell that they weren't exactly fond of each other. She was also worried about how nervous the lizard seemed to have become. Once again, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Um… Mr. Smugleaf?" Eve said, and Snivy immediately dropped his head very low. Umk started laughing out loud.  
"What…" Snivy said with a dark voice, "… Did you call me…?"  
"A-Ah!" Eve stammered, taken aback by his unexpected reaction, "I-It's your name, isn't it? I heard Umk call you that earlier…"  
"How on earth could anyone be named 'Smugleaf'!" Snivy yelled with a fiery rage burning in his voice, "Go on, what's the bloody question!"  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Eve apologized before asking her question, "… You don't believe me, do you?"  
"How can I?" Snivy sighed, "Or rather, that's what I would've said 15 minutes ago. Truth be told, so far your story is the least unreasonable one to explain all this."  
"You see, the ones we questioned during the party don't seem to know anything, and we cannot find any previous members of Evolution's Gate" Umk sighed as well, trying to imitate his partner, "Except those that were there once or twice and saw some kind of strange-"  
"Rock-type Eevee, right?" Eve interrupted him, "Yeah, that's Astrid, alright. Zerobi must've really killed everyone else…"  
"And then there's that Ghost Eeveelution that died" Umk continued as Snivy smacked his head, "No one knows what was going in there… Although from what I hear, your story seems a bit too farfetched."  
"You know, so is Farfetche'd, that doesn't mean people haven't fetched it" Eve said, remembering a retort from happy days with a friend, both long gone.  
"Huh, yeah" Snivy said, remembering as well.

A crash of thunder sounded somewhere in the distance.

"Huh. You think there's a battle somewhere?" Umk said, looking up in the sky.  
"Might just be normal lightning…" Snivy said.  
"You know…" Umk said in a spooky voice, "Might be a ghost. Tonight's Halloween, after all."  
"Halloween? Like I give a crap…" Snivy replied as he remembered yet another thing, "Eve, what about that Waterstone you had?"  
"… I left it" Eve said with a sad tone.  
"… What? At the station?" Snivy said with a quick snicker, "After all that trouble you went through to become a Vaporeon? Why?"  
"I… I'm not sure" she sighed as her look fell to the ground, "I think I realized that evolution isn't everything. Not something you want to leap into as quickly as possible. What if wanting to be a Vaporeon is just a phase, and I really want to become something else later?"  
"I'm with you there" Snivy smiled, "Not a fan of evolution, myself."  
"I mean, I'm fine with being an Eevee right now, why rush into things?" Eve continued before gasping, "Wait, you… You haven't evolved either!"  
"Sure haven't" Snivy said with another content snicker, "My evolved forms are all big and bulky, and eventually lose their arms and legs. That doesn't fit me very well."

A strike of lightning illuminated the sky for a second, before quickly dying off.

"… Maybe I should become a Grass-type, like my mother" Eve said with a shudder, "But I'm worried about… The fire…"  
"You know, if you got a little faster you could dodge fire attacks and wouldn't have to worry about that" Snivy explained in a straightforward way, "What you really should be worried about is Poison-types, and being forced to work with them."  
"B-Boss!" Umk exclaimed in unexpected joy, "… You honestly think I could defeat you in battle!"  
"Of course not, I'd jam you in six different bottles and send half of them to Isshu" Snivy said confidently, "No, beating them up is fine, I said _being forced to work with them_. Hygiene is not exactly their strong point."

Another lightning bolt struck as Umk once again mumbled to himself about the Rhydon he defeated.

"Is your house right in the city or in the outskirts?" Umk asked Eve.  
"Outskirts" Eve said sadly, "… I-I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help with all this…"  
"… Listen, kiddo, don't sweat it." Snivy said in a growly yet concerned voice, "If what you've said is true, you've been through more tonight than the two of us combined. You did well, you've earned some sleep."  
"Yeah, right…" Eve said with sarcasm, "The ghost Eevee is dead, and I probably won't be able to see Astrid ever again. I've got too much on my mind to fall asleep ever again."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" a voice shouted.  
"Who's there?" Snivy said, swiftly spinning around the scan the area.  
"N-No…" Eve stuttered fearfully, "I-It can't be…!"

"Up here!" the voice sounded again, from the top of one of the rocks. There stood a lean figure in black, with sharp claws gleaming dangerously in the moon's light. The sky exploded in brightness as lightning struck behind it, casting a long shadow from the viscous creature.

"**Z-ZEROBI!**" Eve shouted in panic, quickly looking at the two police officers, "Y-You said she was dead!"  
"This is where I'd normally say 'I got better'…" Zerobi shouted gleefully, "But honestly, I feel like crap, and now I'm going to kill you all." She leaped from the rock, landing a few feet in front of them. Eve stumbled backwards in terror, but the two officers remained still.

"Are you Zerobi?" Snivy asked coldly.  
"Yes" Zerobi responded, "Who the hell are you?"  
"… Zerobi's supposed to be dead, right?" Snivy said while looking at Umk, completely ignoring her.  
"Yep" Umk responded, "Resisted arrest, had to be put down."  
"Oh yeah, that damn Kojondo!" Zerobi said angrily, "Tell me where he is, and I might let you live!"  
"Hmpf" Snivy huffed, still ignoring her, "And now she's suddenly alive. We're going to have to file SO much paperwork for this."  
"You won't be filing anything, because I'm going to cut you into pieces and drink your blood right now!" Zerobi screamed with rage, putting her claws together rapidly and making a screeching noise.

"You know what? She's got a point" Snivy said while staring at her with ire, "I HATE paperwork. Let's just finish this now, and say we found her covered in bruises and knocked out."  
"No! Don't!" Eve wailed from behind them, "She's too strong! Zerobi, everyone already knows you're special, don't do this!"  
"Heh, I thought as much…" Zerobi said with a smile, "If that hadn't been the case, I might not have had to do this…"  
"W-What do you mean…?" Eve asked in desperation, feeling both confused and scared.  
"I was originally just going to kill you for knowing about my secret" Zerobi started, "But I assume that these two know a bit more than they're supposed to, so they'll have to die as well. See, it's good if people think I'm dead, especially now that I've found immortality. I can avoid all the prosecution, go somewhere low key, capture someone every now and then to enjoy a little blood and refine my life…"  
"Immortality is an illusion" Snivy suddenly said, "Everyone will die, eventually."  
"Oh, yes, for you normal creatures, that would be true" Zerobi laughed darkly, "But not for me. I have found the means for eternity. Through the blood of others, I shall become divine! And within me, their life will carry on, allowing _them_ to live forever as well! Don't you see? I'm a saint!"

"OK, I've heard enough" Snivy said after a while, "Eve, this is the one, right?"  
"Y-Yes…" Eve whispered lightly while cowering on the ground.  
"Zerobi!" Snivy shouted while pointing at her, "You are hereby arrested for all that stuff you did!"  
"Oh?" Zerobi taunted, "That's rich! And who's going to capture me, you?"  
"If you resist arrest…" Snivy said before trailing off, "… Why am I even bothering with the legal stuff? Just leave this one to me, Umk."  
"You won't stop me!" Zerobi laughed with malice, "You know what happened to the last policemen that tried to stop me? I don't think they did either, seeing how I killed them all in a flash!"  
"Wait over there, Eve" Snivy said with contempt as he took a step forward, "I'll take care of this."  
"Yeah, wait over there, Eve" Zerobi mimicked him with ridicule, "Once I've killed him, I can use his essence to make you a Grass Eeveelution just like your mom! And then BURN YOU UP!"

Snivy extended his arms, shooting out two vine projectiles at Zerobi. However, her reflexes were as sharp as her claws, and she easily dodged them.  
"Haha!" Zerobi exclaimed with both joy and defiance, "You're a Grass Pokémon! This'll be quick!" She then inhaled with all her might, and blew a very cold wind at Snivy. Snivy saw this coming and made a small leap to his side, avoiding the attack with a wide berth. Both Eve and Zerobi were shocked at the speed he moved at. Zerobi then felt something crawl up her right leg, but as she tried to shake it off she noticed that she couldn't move her legs! She quickly looked down and saw that her arms and legs were being constricted by two snake-like vines!

"Correction…" Snivy said with a triumphant tone, "I'm a _Snake_ Pokémon, and a high level one at that. You thought I was going to attack you with some wimpy leech seeds?"  
"Snake or Grass, die as whatever you want!" Zerobi shouted before putting all her power into tearing through her restrictions, but to no avail.  
"Problem, outlaw?" Snivy said with a smug smile on his face while crossing his arms in confidence.  
"Grr… You binds can't hold me!" Zerobi growled before inhaling and turning her freezing breath on herself. The cold ice hurt a bit, but the snake-like vines instantly froze and shattered as she threw her arms up into the air.

At the same time, Snivy threw his arms out to his sides, causing several leaves to fly from his body into the air around him. The leaves started spinning quickly, and then flew towards Zerobi at a high speed. She leaped to the side and dodged the brunt of the attack, swiping with her claws to slice some of the leaves in half and stopping their approach. A few leaves hit her left leg, causing a small scratch.

"Oh yeah, she's fast, I forgot…" Snivy said while slapping himself on the forehead before once again scattering leaves, several more of them this time, "Try to dodge this one!"

As the large amount of leaves started spinning, Zerobi inhaled as much air as she could. As they flew at her, she exhaled and froze all of them in midair, causing them to drop down on the ground and shatter.

"Fool! The likes of you will never even touch me!" Zerobi laughed manically, "Stick to fighting Water-types!"  
"Hmpf!" Snivy huffed, "Let's see you keep it up. I've got a lot of razor leaves to spare." He then threw out his arms again and more leaves appeared.  
"Maybe so, but I don't have time for this!" Zerobi shouted, as she ran towards Snivy while inhaling deeply. As the razor leaves approached, she froze them all and jumped through them to reach Snivy. He saw her getting close and made a small leap to the side. She followed him with a small leap of her own, and managed to land a slash across his nose. Crimson blood shone between them, as Snivy shot out two vines directly at her. They crawled around her body as she began freezing them, giving Snivy the time to leap a few feet away from her.

"Mr. Smugleaf!" Eve shouted, and Umk got a concerned look on his face. Snivy was breathing heavily, and started wiping some of the blood off his face. She was a lot more dangerous than he had expected. A little closer, and she might've actually killed him.  
"Ooooh, you feel soooo good!" Zerobi taunted while licking some blood of her claw, "You too shall soon become a part of my body! We'll get to know each other quite intimately!" Smugleaf stared at her in silent disgust for a while, before suddenly bending over.

Leaves scattered around his body, but instead of remaining airborne they slowly fell to the ground. Snivy then fell on his stomach, slithered four feet in front of him and scattered more leaves. Umk saw this, and grabbed a hold of a very confused Eve.  
"Brace yourself, missy!" he said, and before she could react he threw her far away in the opposite direction. She landed hard on the cold ground, getting up and looking around her in surprise.

Meanwhile, Snivy was still spreading the leaves around the area.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Zerobi asked, "This is boring, let's keep fighting!" Zerobi lounged at Snivy, but he was already a few steps away, spreading more leaves. She tried to predict where he was going to move next, but saw no pattern and ended up attacking thin air.  
"Stay still, will you!" she yelled in frustration. The earlier cut had given her a taste of blood, and she was getting reckless. But as she said that, Snivy suddenly stopped moving and looked up at her. There were now hundreds of leaves on the ground around them.

"OK, finally, what the hell was that?" Zerobi said with a cocky voice, "What is this, some kind of ultimate attack?"  
"No, nothing as cool… As that…" Snivy mumbled, somewhat exhausted, "But it'll kill you… Or knock you out... Not that the end results will be different… After what you did to my face."  
"Oh, scary!" she coaxed, "Smugleaf is getting all serious!"  
"My name… is not 'Smugleaf'…" he muttered angrily as he hunched over before howling madly, "**It's SNIVY!**"

Suddenly, the leaves around them started moving. A little at first, but then they started moving around like in a big tornado. Zerobi's instincts told her to dodge, but there were too many leaves in all directions to let her escape in time, so she tried defending herself. As the storm picked up the leaves started cutting through her skin weakly, only giving her a few scratches.  
"Pathetic, this was y-" she laughed, but was abruptly cut off by a leaf almost cutting into her left eye. She kept defending, protecting her face and waiting for the storm to die down.

The storm didn't die down. Minutes passed, and those unremarkable scratches were turning into bleeding cuts after being constantly assaulted. Zerobi was starting to worry that it was never going to end, and she tried to get a glimpse of where Snivy had gone. She peeked through her claws, and saw that the Muk had flattened himself against the ground to avoid the attack. But not far away the smug snake stood upright, right in the middle of it all. Like a tornado, the eye of the storm was clam, and he was unaffected by the vicious attack.

"You can't fool me!" Zerobi shouted as she pounced at him, but as soon as she dropped her guard she noticed just how ferocious the storm had become. Even thought he was just about five feet away, her body was cut up so badly that she resumed her protective stance. She knew she wouldn't last forever. Repeating her earlier strategy, she exhaled on the leaves around her, causing them to freeze. There were a lot of leaves though, and she noticed that she was hardly making a dent in their numbers.

Now the leaves were cutting quite deep into her, much deeper than before. Desperate for an escape, she launched a massive icicle from her mouth at Snivy. The icicle was almost sliced into nothingness by the leaves before it reached him, but managed to land a critical hit as it hit his left eye. When the cyclone started to weaken, she used all her strength to tackle him out of the eye of the storm, and almost immediately all the leaves fell to the ground where they lay in peaceful harmony.

Snivy scrambled to get up off his back, but Zerobi ran up to him and stepped on his exposed stomach. He coughed in pain.  
"I think you'll stay like that, so you don't slither away again" she sneered in a victorious way.  
"B-Bitch!" Snivy coughed, "Ins-Insufferable hick!"  
"Your blood really wasn't half bad…" Zerobi said in a seductive tone while licking her lips, "You normally slither, right? You don't mind if I cut off a leg or two, do you?"

Zerobi readied her claws and bent over as Snivy's eyes widened in fear. Suddenly, something big and purple hit her face. She flew backwards from the impact, crashing on the ground.

"D-Dumbass, if that had hit me…" Snivy said grumpily while standing up.  
"Sorry, Smuglaf!" Umk replied as he quickly pulled himself across the ground, "Just making sure the civilian wouldn't get harmed!"  
"That's nice. How about you subdue this whore before I get vivisected?" Snivy said weakly. The leaf storm had really exhausted him.  
"On it!" Umk said as he picked up the pace a little.

"Grah, what is this!" Zerobi spluttered as she cleared the purple stuff from her face. The sticky sludge was irritating her eyes and making her face itch. When she had gotten most of it out of her eyes, she saw something big over her. She heard someone say something as she was completely covered in a thick, slimy substance.

"Surrender now, criminal scum!" Umk shouted as the thin creature wriggled underneath him, "It's only going to get worse from here!"

Zerobi felt the itching spread all over her body, and to her horror she noticed that her face was starting to burn. The heavy sludge had completely covered her, and she couldn't move or breathe. Thinking fast, she exhaled the air she had left in her lungs in order to freeze her assailant.

"Your resistance only makes me harder!" Umk said loudly as he felt a cold feeling in his lower regions, "Water may soften me, but ice has the opposite effect!"

The acidic substance was leaking into the previous wounds left by Snivy, and was hurting her badly. She gasped for air, wishing she hadn't used that last attack. As she tried to come up with a way out, her mind was rapidly getting hazier. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was try to focus all her dark energy, hopefully affecting Umk enough to make him get off her.

An explosion sounded as a black pulse threw Umk two feet into the sky and splashed him against the ground next to Zerobi. She inhaled deeply, occasionally stopping to cough up sludge that had invaded her facial orifices. The burning feeling slowly left her, and she quickly thrust a claw deep into the Pokémon lying next to her. Umk screamed loudly as Zerobi's arm became covered with his blood.

"Asshole…" she spit as she saw something moving in the corner of her eye. She rolled out of the way and stood up, seeing the snake-like vine crawl faster to keep up with her. She bent over and stabbed it, instantly ceasing its movement.  
"Y-You…" Snivy growled, struggling to remain vertical a few feet away. Suddenly, he collapsed.  
"Don't think I've forgotten about you…" Zerobi whispered as she approached him, "First the legs, then the arms… Oh, I can't wait to kill you… To feel you inside of me, rushing around my body endlessly, unwittingly fueling my existence, _looking for an escape, **pleading for a death that will not come-**_"

"STOP IT!" Eve suddenly shouted, interrupting Zerobi, "DON'T DO THIS!"  
"Eve…" Zerobi said slowly as Eve ran up to her.  
"Don't you remember?" Eve said weakly trying to hold back her tears, "Don't you remember all the fun we had in school? In the cave with Astrid? What about all those Occult Magazines, and Leppa Cakes, and… And… What happened to you!"

Zerobi stood silent for a while, looking down at the Pokemon before her. Behind her the wailing of Umk could still be heard, and Snivy was staring at the scene more terrified than ever before.

"Yes…" Zerobi said after a while, "I'll… I'll make it painless. You've earned that. I'll enjoy your blood first, should revive me enough to REALLY enjoy that snake bastard."

"B-But… Zerobi…" Eve whispered as she was overcome by fear, "Aren't we… Friends…?"

"Friends…?" Zerobi repeated while raising her claw, "Like I give a shit… Now, drench me with your innocence!"

The claw found its target, striking hard and striking loud. Blood spread over the area with a little splash. Snivy had seen many gruesome things in his past, but could not help himself from looking away. Umk had become unconscious due to the loss of blood. Eve herself stared in disbelief as her former companion loomed over her one second, and then struck her claw into the ground right next to her.

"W-What is going on…?" Zerobi said while clutching her forehead, "Urgh… Feels like…" A very nasty feeling was spreading from her right arm; numbing it and making her feel uncomfortable. She looked down at it, and noticed that it had a pink hue. She looked over at the immobile Umk.  
"Y-You bastard!" she shouted, "This isn't blood! This is something else!"  
"Heh…" Snivy mumbled while cracking a smile before laughing out loud, "Hahahaha!"  
"What's so funny, squirt!" Zerobi yelled in anger as she found it harder to move her right shoulder.  
"Of course…" Snivy said, "Of course not even his blood is normal…"  
"What!" Zerobi said, before realizing what this meant, "Shit, this blood is poisonous, isn't it!"

Zerobi fell to the ground, finding it a struggle to stand up. Snivy kept laughing, while Eve was still frozen in shock.  
"Eve! Come here!" Zerobi said, "I need you… I need your blood!" She tried to swipe at Eve with her left claw, but she moved out of the way.  
"No, Eve, come HERE!" she yelled, trying to crawl after her, "Aren't we friends? Aren't we pals? You know you can trust me!" Eve remained silent, but kept moving away from her.  
"Kid, don't let her fool you" Snivy said smugly while rising to his feet, "It's over for her. She's a goner."

"B-But that's just impossible!" Zerobi burst out, "Inconceivable! I'm an immortal goddess, how can I be defeated by some lowlifes like you!"  
"No" Snivy said bluntly as he approached them while staggering a bit, "You're just a little girl, playing some silly game. We're professionals, trained and adapt for this kind of thing. You're screwed."  
"No! Eve, I…" Zerobi said, starting to become dizzy, "This is… Just a little blood!"  
"You've killed a lot of people. Now, it's your turn" Snivy said as he got closer, but suddenly he was pushed back by Eve.

"Eve, you…!" Zerobi whimpered hopefully.  
"Eve, what're you…" Snivy said, shocked.  
"… No" Eve finally said while shaking her head, "… You're bleeding. You might get some on her by mistake."

Zerobi's heart sunk.  
"No! NO! I WILL NOT DIE LIKE THIS!" she shouted, trying to get up but noticing that she couldn't move even a single muscle.  
"The murderer is scared of dying…" Snivy sighed, "… This would be ironic, if not for the fact that it happens every. Single. Time."  
"No, you don't get it!" Zerobi said in panic, "I'm not like you! I have the potential to be immortal! I can make this world a better place!"  
"If you want to make the world a better place, you can start by dying" Snivy said coldly, "Don't waste your breath, it's not like we know how to save you, anyway…"  
"One more day…" Zerobi cried as her voice was failing her, "Just… Let me live… One more day…"  
"BLARGH!" a noise sounded from Umk, signaling that the Muk had returned to consciousness.  
"Hey, good of you to come around…" Snivy said weakly, "How're you doing?"  
"Grr, it hurts like hell!" the wounded Poison-Type growled, "Where is she, I'll…"

Umk saw Zerobi lying on the ground. The wounds and scars covering her body were leaking blood, which was being washed away by the heavy rain. She was no longer moving.  
"Wait, is she…" he said, his body reforming to seal up the wound.  
"Dead?" Snivy replied cheerfully, "More or less, yeah." Eve looked down at her, and decided to move her head a bit closer to see if she was still breathing. She wasn't.  
"Y-Yes, she's…" Eve stuttered, "D-Dead…"  
"Whoa, you've got balls, moving in like that…" Snivy said, feeling woozy, "Could've sworn she was going to come to life one last time…"

They all stood in silence, as the rain picked up yet another notch.

It was over.

"… I know it's a hassle…" Snivy said after a long time of silence, "… But we kind of need to go back to the station, now."  
"How about a visit to the Pokecentre first?" Umk said, still in blinding pain.  
"You should accompany… Us…" Snivy said hazily while looking at Eve, before wobbling and crashing down on the ground.  
"Mr. Smugleaf!" Eve cried and ran up to his body. As she checked him, she instantly noticed the many differences between a living, breathing creature and the one she had checked earlier. Zerobi was definitively dead. Somehow, this thought filled her heart with relief instead of sorrow. Then she remembered all the good times she had with Zerobi and Astrid, and her spirits sunk once more.  
"Stop daydreaming, is he OK!" Umk said in a startled voice.  
"Yes, yes, I think he just collapsed from exhaustion…" she responded.  
"Aah, what a relief!" the Umk sighed deeply, "He always said how much he hated having to keep fighting after the leaf storm… I guess he wasn't kidding!"  
"We need to get him to a Pokecenter, quick!" she said, "And you too!"  
"Definitely! Uh… Eve, was it?" Umk carefully said, "Could you carry him? I don't think he'd be very glad to find out I touched him."  
"O-OK!" Eve said as she bent over to pick up Snivy, before turning to Umk with a big smile, "I had my doubts at first, but you're really a nice person!"  
"Hehe… First you call me 'Mr. Umk', and now this?" Umk chuckled before clutching his wound, "Ow! You're being too nice…" Eve managed to get Snivy on her back, as Umk looked over at the corpse of Zerobi.

"Listen, could you run ahead of me to the Pokecenter?" Umk asked Eve, "I have something I have to do here."  
"W-What?" Eve stammered fearfully, "Y-You're not going to…"  
"You've been through a lot tonight, we all have" Umk said while closing his eyes, "But I need to get dispose of the body, and this is something you really don't need to see." Eve looked at him skeptically for a moment, but then nodded her head.  
"I-I understand…" she said, and then continued her trip up Route 5, convinced that the nightmare was at long last over.

As she left, Umk approached the Zerobi's body.  
"You came back to life once. Better be safe than sorry. May you rest in peace, wayward soul" he said before expelling a highly corrosive poison from his body and covering her in it. The acid tore through her skin, reducing her muscles to a reddish sauce and liquefying her insides. Within a minute, her body had melted into a small puddle, washing her away in the rain and expunging her from existence forever.

"... And then, _SHE SUDDENLY CAME BACK TO LIFE_!" Umk shouted while laughing uncontrollably.  
"What!" the Croagunk said, "But you said you melted her! You're drunk off your ass, man!"  
"Hehe…" Snivy snickered while rubbing the bandage across his nose, "Alcohol poisoning is his natural state!"  
"Haha, yeah!" the Blaziken laughed heartily, "Hey, bartender, fill 'em up!"  
"C-Coming…" the Spinda said, while carefully wavering back and forth with a plate filled with new glasses.  
"Let me help you with those, honey" the Haunter said as she grabbed the plate and brought it over to the table, as the Spinda fell flat on her face.  
"So, what do you guys think of that Ghost-type Eeveelution?" the Haunter said in a chilling voice, "I wish I could've asked it what it was like to go from standing up to constantly floating."  
"Don't think any more will be popping up, any time soon…" the Scizor says, while shaking his head when offered a drink, "Unless we get another Zerobi, some time soon…"  
"I wish I could say we won't, but we're going to get occultist everywhere after that picture hits the media…" Snivy says depressingly, taking a swig from the cup in front of him.  
"Hopefully they won't be immortal, this time…" Scizor sighed as Umk started laughing again.  
"Not a prob, 'cause Mr. Umk's in town!" Umk shouts belligerently before laughing again.  
"Stop feeding him drinks!" the Croagunk sneers, "We're police! He's making us look like hooligans!"  
"Aw come on, it's hilarious!" the Blaziken laughs while stomping his feet in the ground, "He's acting like a super hero or something! Our drunken savior!"

Everyone laughed as this, having a good time. Suddenly, the doors to Spinda's Café flew open with a bang, and their laughter stifled.

"Oh, sorry, thought the doors were really heavy…" an apologetic voice came from the entrance. Then, a small figure looked around the area before running up to each of the tables with Pokémon at them. Finally, it came to the table they were sitting at.

"Hey, little missy!" Umk laughed awkwardly, "You're OK!"  
"Umk! You're O…" Eve said before stopping herself, "I mean, uh, are _you_ OK?"  
"Ahahaha! Never better!" Umk kept laughing.  
"Oh cr- Is that…!" the Blaziken stuttered.  
"Hello, Eve" Snivy said with a bored tone.  
"Ah! Mr. Snivy!" Eve said, and her face lit up. She was about to say something, but then noticed that all sorts of Pokémon were at the table staring at her.  
"Hey, you finally got my name right!" Snivy said happily.  
"Yes! I asked around for a Mr. Smugleaf, and the people at the station-"

She was interrupted as everyone started laughing again, louder than before. Everyone except for Snivy and Eve, that is.  
"AHAHAHA!" the Blaziken howled with tears in his eyes, "You thought his real name was 'Smugleaf'! You asked for a 'Mr. Smugleaf!' AHAHAHAHA!"  
"It fits him so perfectly!" the Croagunk chuckled.  
"Still remember when you got that name, not long ago!" the Scizor said with a nod and a smile.  
"OK, enough! Enough!" Snivy shouted before lowering his voice and looking straight at Eve, "These are drinking hours, and you're a minor, kiddo. Get out or I'll have to arrest you, after all."  
"Ah! I-I just came here to give you something…" Eve said as she started to blush, "You know… For helping me and everything…"  
"All in a day's work, guys!" Snivy said and leaned back as the Blaziken started clapping wildly, "What were you thinking about?"

In the flash of a moment, Eve ran up to Snivy and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Everyone instantly became silent, and just stared at her. Time stood still for several seconds before the floodgates burst. The laughter was so great, the Pokémon at the surrounding tables started snickering and people walking by Spinda's Café felt cheerful for some reason.

"**YOU! MINOR!**" Snivy roared with a beat red face, "**OOOUUUT!**" Eve wanted to comply with his request, but hadn't expected such a strong reaction and just stood there frozen. The Blaziken and Umk had both been reduced to a hysteric mess of laughter.  
"You left out that part of the story, Smuggy!" the Croagunk chuckled deeply, "I've heard enough, book 'im, guys!"  
"Careful, honey - This one's a hound dog!" the Haunter giggled while patting Eve on the back.  
"Who called me 'Smuggy'!" Snivy bellowed angrily as he looked around the table, "No one calls me 'Smuggy'! 'Smugleaf' I accept **under protest**, now you've opened up a can of trouble!"

"W-Why are you all drinking so much?" Eve asked, still taken aback by this belligerent display, "Aren't you police?"  
"It's BECAUSE we are police that we drink, tonight!" Scizor said in a very manly way, "That deluded hick killed eleven of us, yesterday!"  
"Mmm…" the Haunter sighed, "There comes a time when you must stop crying and…"  
"START DRINKING!" Umk interrupted, before falling back into a heap of himself.  
"… Realize that tomorrow will come like nothing even happened yesterday." the Haunter continued.  
"Tell that to my face!" Snivy said while pointing to the bandage on his nose.  
"Those wounds will heal" the Haunter replied before looking at Eve again, "And so will yours, honey. Even those on the inside."  
"What is this, an afterschool special!" the Blaziken said while trying to stand up, "Tell her to leave, or I'll arrest her myself!"  
"Stay back, you blundering oaf" Snivy said as he got up, "Trip while on those tall legs and you'll crash to your death. I'll escort her out."

As they left the café, they heard yet another roar of laughter over something. Snivy looked back with disappointment in his eyes.  
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Eve said quietly, realizing that previous blush had been permanently plastered on her face.  
"Yeah, I know, they're a rowdy bunch" Snivy said with sigh, "Give them a break. The Blaziken in there just lost his two best friends at the hands of Zerobi. I've never seen anyone drinking so heavily in my life."  
"Oh…" Eve said, feeling sad.  
"That Haunter lost her son only a month ago" Snivy said, choking up a bit, "We can't even find the body... This has to be our darkest moment ever… And t-there's not a damn thing w-we can do about it, except laugh and drink!"  
"Mr. Snivy, are you…" Eve said, while looking closer at his face, "… Crying?"  
"What? Hell no!" Snivy snapped back, while wiping his face, "This bandage itches, damn it!"

Another wave of laughter came from inside. Both of them became silent, for some reason remembering the crash of lightning that sounded when they both saw Zerobi on top of that rock. They both looked at the sky.

"Are you thinking about…" Eve asked.  
"Yeah" Snivy responded, "Won't ever forget it."  
"Now what happens?" Eve said quietly as a strong wind whisked by them.  
"You…" Snivy said with a smile, "… Will go back to school, and unless you step out of line we won't be seeing each other again."  
"Oh…" Eve whispered sadly, "So that's how it has to be…"  
"You've still got your father, right?" Snivy said with a concerned voice, "And other friends?"  
"Yes, I'll be fine…" Eve said while lowering her head, "Besides, there's still someone I have to reunite with…"

Now they both looked down at the ground. A few days ago they didn't even know each other, but now it felt like they shared something invaluable. Between a policeman and a schoolgirl, they both knew a separation would be certain. They didn't know whether they wanted to quickly run in separate directions, or stand next to each other in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

"Hey…" Snivy said in a low key after the long stretch of silence, "You know, I was watching that classic 'Explorers of Darkness' when I got called into work that day."  
Eve perked up.  
"I remember something about you being a fan…" Snivy said, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "Great movie. Really great. I've been itching to see the sequel 'Explorers of Sky' that premieres in three days from now."  
Eve looked right at him.  
"There's a theatre down in Saffron which is cool. Really cool" Snivy said, before deciding to get straight to the point, "… So, you going to be there or what?"  
"Ah!" Eve said in surprise, blinking a few times. Then her face warmed up with a big smile.

"Definitively!"

_-  
**Occult Magazine: Evolution's Gate**_

_On the sixth day of autumn 2010, the cult known as Evolution's Gate was disbanded after police discovered the bodies of 47 of its members in the Cerulean Cave. The bodies had been modified in many gruesome ways, presumably leading to their deaths. During the disbandment, several of the remaining members resisted and had to be put down._

Our species is beyond understanding!  
There is nothing we cannot conquer!  
The elements shall bow before us!  
Even among our own, we shall be the greatest!

- Unknown (Scribble found in Cerulean City, presumably from a cultist)

_The Cerulean Cave is a home to many rumors and legends (See Occult Mag 6 'Mewtwo Too', 13 'Roaming Pokémon' and 17 'Man Of A Thousand Pokémon' for further reading on this!), although one must question where the line between fantasy and reality is drawn, and where fact and the occult meet. Even with such an event occurred in recent times, information is limited because the people related to the incident have all died._

What separates sanity from delusion?  
Must the unknown always be met with confusion?  
For only if you are unable to show result  
Can it truly be referred to as the occult

- Zerobi (Excerpt from notes found at Cerulean Cave)

_Zerobi was the ringleader of Evolution's Gate. She was a Weavile without any relatives, who was quite popular at the school she went to. A Pokémon of flesh and blood, she formed Evolution's gate under the ruse that it would let Eevee evolve into whichever elemental type they wanted to (See Occult Mag 5 'Eeveelutions - Still Evolving!' for further reading!). It is believed that she captured people's belief with the help of the fabled Halloweeon (See Occult Mag 25 'Ghostly Apparitions!' for further reading!). But instead, she was luring innocent Pokémon into the Cerulean cave where she would dismember them and hide their bodies in a secret room._

_Zerobi presumably met with an untimely end in a conflict with the police. She was taken in to the morgue for an autopsy, but records show that the next day, Zerobi's body had disappeared. It was never found. A suicide note left by a police officer related to the incident claims that Zerobi was in fact alive, and had managed to escape._

_Is Zerobi still out there? The police department refuses to answer our questions regarding the situation, claiming it as too much of a tragedy to revisit. But if we cannot revisit it, how are we ever able to learn from it? All that remains is what is left to our imagination and random speculation, as we cannot help but wonder what truly went on in the group known as Evolution's Gate.  
-_

* * *

_Author's Final Words_

YA-HA-HA! That's it! It's the very opposite of beginning - It's over! Life goes on, but for this story there's no tomorrow!

"Uh… Yeah. Now for the big debate…" Zerobi snickers, "Who was the main character?"

"Oh, come on, it's so obviously me" Snivy says smugly, "Competent, suave, funny…"

"… Spiteful, lazy, short…" Zerobi continues.

Who's the main character? Everyone is! What, I'm supposed to make the audience relate to a single character by pumping it full of millions of conflicting traits? I LOVE ALL MY CHARACTERS EQUALLY, DAMN IT!

"Whoa, calm down" Snivy says, looking reviled, "What the hell are you drinking?"

Well… I get drunk like twice a year, so I had to do some field research for that last scene in Spinda's… Place.

"… How is it?" Astrid asks, looking excited.

… Damn, you look foxy, ghost Eevee…

"Huh?" the ghastly, yet progressively attractive babe asks, "Me?"

C'mere, sit on my lap.

"Ew, no!" she shouts in what has to be compliance, "This is wrong!"

C'mon. I'll give you a name.

"… A name? Me?" the hot broad says, "After all this time?"

Sure. I'm drunk, and I don't *urrp* know what I might do!

"I mean, it **is** the last chapter, and I would love to have a name…" the sexy lady… kind of… tells me or something.

Stand up, ghost *ulp* Eevee! Henceforth *wobble*, you shall be known as M… M…

… M-Miss Bigglesworth…

"Oh crap, he fainted!"

"NOOOOOO! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!"

"Someone wake him up, I don't even know who's talking anymore!"

"Umk, can you do something about this? The alcohol's poison, after all"

"I'll try, Smugleaf… Or Eve… Or whoever… Anyway, let's see…!"

…

…

… Why the heck does my face smell like ripe cheese?

"QUICK!" the ghost Eevee shouts at me with a panicked stare, "Say you undo it!"

… I undo… It?

"Hahaha! Perfect!" the ghost Eevee giggles while joyfully hovering around the room, "I have no name, I have no name…"

That's right! Now let's get drunk and have a big celebration!

"We already did that" Snivy says with a facepalm.

We did? OK, then… What do we do now?

"End the story?" Astrid says, lowering the spirits of everyone in the room.

"No! Come on!" Eve says, "Let's keep going all night!"

No, I'm afraid Astrid is right. Everything fun has to end sooner or later, and this is the story's end.  
I guess… You all can weigh in on what you thought of it, or maybe you have something else to say. Here, if you have something to say I'll let you have the keyboard.

_I am a colossal bonehead who takes pleasure in defiling the body of other men and shall do so forevermore._

… Snivy, stay the hell away from my keyboard! What do you mean "permanent marker", such a thing doesn't exist on computers! What the- It's not going away! Oh, you little shit! Come back here!

All right, fine, I'll mark up who's talking first to avoid further confusion. Take it away, everyone!

Eve:  
_Hello, everyone! I've got a secret that I've been keeping from everyone all this time… I'm the very same Eve as the one from the cancelled series "Just A Visitor"! Not only that, I've actually been featured in several different stories lately. Honestly, all the attention is getting to be a bit creepy. But I really shouldn't say too much, I guess my only regret is that I never got to show off my fighting abilities! When I evolve, I'll surpass all of these other people!  
Oh, and there was hardly any romantic sub-plot with Snivy, which is a shame! I love those!_

(On that subject, I've got more work lined up for you. Creepy as it may be. Actually, with what I've got planned it might be upgraded to 'distressing')

Snivy:  
_An amusing thought, indeed. And thus, in order to flourish your entertainment, here is a telegraphed sequence deciphering my romantic sup-plot with Eve.  
"Hello, father of Eve!" I say.  
"BURN!" father of Eve says.  
"OH NO! I ARE BURN!" I say.  
Funny, no? I saw a comic dealing with a similar subject on the Internet, and changed it around a little.  
At any rate, I feel inclined to explain that I am far more verbose in writing than when I am translating myself into simple English for ease of understanding. Not to mention that transcribing my speeches would be a massive pain in the behind. Now, if you will be so humble as to pardon me, I shall take my leave to review the script once more, to assure myself that my dialogue remains unaltered._

(Snivy… You're killing me. You know English is not my first language. Why you gotta do this!)

Astrid:  
_Oh, geez, I don't know what to write… Such an opportunity to really reach out to you people, but I really don't have anything to say. Uh, hi? Hello? Is anyone reading this? Oh! I guess you want to know what I thought of the story… Well, my role was the hardest! Since I've lived all my life in a cave, I had to constantly remember to not know about things on the outside. Scratch hardest - My role was bloody impossible! Luckily, my father was a well taught man, so I had heard about stuff like forests and such from him._

(I feel your pain, man. Oh well, at least you didn't curse up a storm like the last time, and I respect that. Keep your anger bottled up, and release it… Somewhere else)

Zerobi:  
_Let me start by addressing what you're all thinking about - The massacre. I never even had an inclination towards retelling that part of the story. For only if you are unable to show result, can it truly be referred to as the occult, yadda yadda… The fact that you have no idea what really went on is what makes it so scary. How did I really die? How many did I manage to kill? Did I kill humans, too? Was Eve there? Lopunny who? Hahaha! Let me tell you one thing - Shit be whack, yo!  
Apart from that, it's been a fun trip. I guess I died, but I got to kill a lot of people, so it kind of balances it out. And like every good movie villain, I'll only be dead until the sequel! See you all then!_

(Did I hear someone say 'sequel'? It's going to be… IN SPACE! And it's going to be… EVEN BETTER! And it might actually... EXPLAIN WHO YOU REALLY ARE! Yeah, see you the next contest! Or maybe the next-next contest! OK, maybe not at all)

All right, that's it. Oh wait, there's one person I've yet to address. The reader - _You_.

… Sorry, but I really don't know who you are… Like, at all. If you have something to tell me, leave a review or something, maybe we can strike up a conversation, get a drink sometime, listen to some music, collaborate a story, earn millions, move in together, spend millions, create solo careers, try to write music even though we can't, enter alcoholics anonymous and never talk to each other again.

… But probably not. **See you next time!**

* * *

Occult Magazine: Evolution's Gate is the first part of a trilogy, continuing with Forever Legendary and ending with The Human Species! Go read the sequel(s)!


	7. Chronology

This story is actually the first part of a Trilogy, starting out with **Occult Magazine: Evolution's Gate** (complete), continuing with **Forever Legendary** (complete) and ending with **The Human Species** (ongoing). All the characters and events of Evo's Gate are both present and relevant in these other stories, and I GUARANTEE you'll like them if you liked this, so you totally want to check them out!

Might make up for the fact that this is in no way a genuine chapter. Betcha saw "Chronology" and thought it was going to be all that time-travel business, eh? No, it's just referring to the chronology of the series, in case you are interested:

Series Chronology

**Year 1-3:** Occult Magazine, Evolution's Gate  
**Year 4-7:** Forever Legendary (Main storyline)  
**Year 7 1/2:** Mew's Christmas Carol  
**Year 8:** Forever Legendary (Extra Chapter 3)  
**Year 10:** The Human Species


	8. FIRST ANNIVERSARY: Reader's Guide

_The 18th of October, 2010_  
_A dark and bitterly cold evening in Sweden_  
_A man sits at home_  
_Proceeding with his exploration of the Internet._

_Upon a seemingly innocent website_  
_A contest awaits him_  
_Daring him to concoct a story_  
_Combining Pokèmon_  
_And the Occult._

_He did._

**Reader's Guide**

_Written by__ Super Nerd Phi_

**Chapter 1: Snivy's Story**

**On the sixth day of autumn 2010, the cult known as Evolution's Gate was disbanded after police discovered the bodies of 47 of its members in the Cerulean Cave.**  
Evolution's Gate is, of course, heavily based on a cult called Heaven's Gate, which ended in 1997. Apparently, only 39 of its members were found, and rather than being killed its members committed suicide to join aliens or some nonsense, but the concept is the same.

One wonders, why the author didn't just give the date as September 23 (on Earth, in the Northern Hemisphere). Regardless, it is worth noting that fall generally represents old age or sadness, the latter of which is relevant here.

**It didn't take long before the rain was really starting to come down. The strong wind was turning minuscule raindrops into freezing icicles.**  
One could even call this a "dark and stormy night." The darkness is easy, but rain carries several connotations. It obscures the view along with darkness, it washes things away (like blood), and it falls on cops and killers alike.  
A few Pokémon-specific things: Snivy's speed increases in the sunlight, so it's fair to expect that in a time like this, he'd be rather sluggish. Also, the cold turns the water (super-affected by Grass) into ice (super-_effective_against Grass). It's obvious why Snivy is reluctant to step outside.

**My name is Snivy, although my colleagues call me "Smugleaf", which they in turn say is "a fitting profile".**  
Smugleaf was the fan-given name for Snivy before the official non-Japanese names were announced. It's actually probably more appropriate than the real one, and it can be assumed that the author was aware of this.

**I believe it's their way of coping with the fact that I am far more skilled at my job than they are.**  
Woo, irony! Though Snivy is something of a "grasshole," if you will, it is hard not to like characters like these, the openly snide. I have to imagine a hint of irony in this statement, though: Snivy can't be quite _that_much of a douche. Either way, this establishes the character's base personality, which the story will build upon.

**Apparently some Pokémon are so bored with their existence that they attempt to appease Arceus with strange rituals or try to create an eighteenth element. I mean, we all went looking for Mew under trucks and in mystery dungeons when we were kids, but there comes a time when you simply have to grow up and forget about all that.**  
Is Snivy an archetypal atheist? Probably not. He is, however, extremely logical and considers himself sophisticated. Also, here's an obvious reference to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.  
By the way, Pokémon could certainly do with a Light type to balance out the Dark, though I have to doubt this has any bearing on the dark Snivy's in now.

**"Smugleaf! Glad that you could make it, old pal!" I heard the revolting Muk say from behind me. He was holding some kind of sludge in his right hand, which I honestly couldn't tell if it was condiments or another missing piece from his brain.**  
Here we have the familiar "goofball and straight guy" pairing. Besides the fact that Poison is super-effective against Grass, one would rarely think to find poison on this side of the law. Team Rocket used Poison types often, after all.  
I wonder where they are, huh?

**"Umk, I was right before the Primal Dialga fight in Explorers of Darkness when you called" I said and suddenly wished I had started the movie 20 minutes earlier, "This had better be important."**  
**"Ahaha, let me save you the trouble!" he chuckled, "The real villain's Lugia, everyone already knows that!"**  
Snivy has his own house with cable? Well, the author has stated that EoD was his inspiration for writing mature Pokémon stories. The strange thing, though, is that Lugia wasn't involved at all in the plot of that game.

**She was curled up in a ball, but not while lying down but rather sitting up and leaning against one of the mirrors.**  
The fetal position? I know nothing of the gestation of animals or Pokémon, though it's obvious Eve is shaken. Part of it might be her being in a room that seems to stretch to infinity, since all the walls are mirrors.

**"Why are you even talking to me! Talk to Zerobi or Astrid if you want someone who knows anything!"**  
**"Well, see, that's the problem" I started and a felt a surge of confidence well up, "We've tried asking them, but they were both a bit too dead to answer."**  
Snivy needs to check his sources: both of them are alive. Hey, they aren't spoilers at this point!

**"... Yeah, the blood." Eve whispered softly, "... It was the blood she craved."**  
Here we're introduced to Zerobi, a character who couldn't be more of a vampire if she tried. She wears a cloak, hunts in the night, has sharp fangs, and most importantly, feeds off blood. Well, she doesn't _feed_ so much as _bathe_ in blood, but the point is that she gains from the suffering of others and is incredibly difficult to destroy.  
Of course, a chapter title in "The Human Species" flat-out refers to her as a vampire, making my observation seem less astute.

**Chapter 2: Eve's Story**

**My father was a Houndoom and my mother was a Leafeon.**  
This checks out: Houndoom can breed with Leafeon, and offspring are the same species as the mother while inheriting the father's moves. Clearly, Pokégenetics aren't quite like regular genetics.

**We lived in a forest when I was young, when an accident happened that set our burrow ablaze.**  
I'd like to hear the details of this accident, but it's relatively unimportant. What is important is the fire.  
Fire is violent; it consumes thoughtlessly. There is an obvious reason it is thought of as the hotter counterpart to water: it can also be cleansing. It expunged Eve's mother from her life, after all. The fire completely changed the way she lived, though it was for the worse.

**One might say that a fear of fire is more healthy than destructive. Try saying that after almost freezing to death on a cold winter night, or running away from any Fire Pokemon in the vicinity. No matter what kind of fire it was, I could always see mother writhing among the flames and smell her scent in the smoke.**  
You don't need me to point this out as post-traumatic stress disorder-or, sorry, post-traumatic stress. Anyway, this can sometimes lead to suicide. Eve's claims that she would die if evolved into a Flareon are probably not just drama.

**If you take your time evolving, you become either an Umbreon or Espeon. If you happen to stumble upon the Moss or Ice Rock, you'll become a Leafeon or Glaceon. The easiest way of evolving seems to be getting a hold of one of the elemental stones, so that you can become a Vaporeon, Jolteon or... Or... Flareon...**  
One can assume evolution, especially for Eevee, is like passing into adulthood or choosing a career. It's a physical change that can never be undone, but for caught Pokémon, it seems it isn't a personal choice. Snivy, being employed by humans(?) but apparently still free of the Poké Ball, chooses never to undergo this change-probably by having someone scare him or keeping an Everstone with him at all times.  
Of course, single-form Pokémon would never have to worry about this sort of thing, though it is strange to imagine a tiny Druddigon or something.

**Second of all, even if I slaved away in an exploration team for years I wouldn't earn any human currency, which is what I need.**  
A mention of slavery in Pokémon? How poignant. What really catches my eye is that there apparently _are_exploration teams (and possibly rescue teams) in this world, but use berries or something instead of Poké as currency.

**So the only option for me would be to get myself caught by a human, and have him evolve me. This is a horrible idea. I don't want a trainer! I don't want to fight for a living! And what if he decides not to evolve me, or turn me into a Flareon! I'd die!**  
Eve seems to have an inherent distrust of humans, for some reason.

**I had no plan. Very little hope. I just went to the school for Pokemon in Cerulean City every day, fighting with my fear of fire and avoiding evolutionary items whenever I could.**

One: Pokémon have a school, where apparently they learn to battle, which makes it a strange choice for Eve to go every day. Two: Evolutionary items are suddenly more common than she thought.

**Zerobi was a Sneasel in my class. Very elegant and intelligent, but also very dark. She was really into the occult, spouting her mouth about reality-devouring creatures called MissingNo or Mew, Mewtwo and Mewthree.**  
Zerobi never knew her parents, and Eve lost one of hers. Heroes are often orphans, since this makes a good inspiration for heroism. It's hard to call anyone in this story a hero, though, at least in the usual sense.

**How could anyone have known! She was just another girl at our school, how would we have known that she was in fact a vicious, bloodthirsty demon!**  
A hint that deep inside, everyone has the potential to be a murderer (or at least that you can't tell apart the ones who do)? But, hey: less philosophizing, more reading.

**Chapter 3: Zerobi's Story**

**_From Life, Death._**  
**_From Death, Rebirth. _**  
**_From Rebirth, Life. _**  
**_But only outside of obscurity can you live for all eternity._**  
**_And like the wind, I shall sweep the land forever._**  
Death and rebirth are really the themes of this story. Eve's mother dies; Eve starts a new life in the city. Cult members die and others are reborn as new types. The cult dies, and Eve transforms into a sullen mess, unable to even evolve. And, of course, Zerobi dies but is brought back to life.  
I guess you could even say evolution is a kind of rebirth. In that case, Eve has reached her rebirth limit without even evolving.

**It all began in Cerulean City, where I lived most of my life. It was a peaceful city, but one that harbored many dark secrets. The greatest of these had to be the cave located in the city's outskirts, better known as the Cerulean Cave.**  
If I'm analyzing symbolism, I feel obligated to draw some connection, however tenuous, to Greek myth. Now, to get to this cave you have to cross a river-swim under it, really-and pass a vigilant guard. If that isn't Hades I don't know what is, but my guess is that this practically wrote itself into the story. Keep in mind, though, that it is a place of death and decay which no one leaves.  
Caves are often used symbolically, as in Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Consider that, for the most part, the cult members are kept in the dark, so to speak, as to the identity of the other members or the true nature of the activities. Astrid, especially, has never ventured beyond the cave, and after seeing what the outside world can be, is understandably hesitant. The real problem, though, is what's inside the cave. Zerobi was fascinated by the occult before even setting foot in it, but on entering this place her true nature shows: that of a serial killer. Clearly, Cerulean Cave is more than just a place for Mewtwo to hide.  
...Damn, this symbolism stuff is easy.

**My favorite rumor was that a genetic clone of the legendary Mew was housed in the cave, crushing anyone who dared to disturb his peace.**  
Is Mewtwo Hades and Mew his Persephone? Okay, enough of that.

**"Astrid" I repeated, thinking that the guide was doing well so far, but I should probably cut out the whole "weaken it and throw a Pokeball" part of it. The magazine was written by and for humans, after all.**  
It really is irresponsible to give legendary power to pre-teens (or any human), isn't it? One could call Pokémon the power fantasy of every child, made real.

**"M-Me?" Astrid said with a surprised look on her face, "I'm a regular Eevee, living here with my father... Or at least, until recently, he passed away."**  
Yes, it seems Evolution's Gate doubles as the local Orphans' Club. I have to wonder if this kind of thing is common among Pokémon. I guess you never know when your parent will be captured or ki-I mean, faint.

**The next day, two creatures broke through the surface in the secret entrance**  
I also feel like I should make a reference to baptism somewhere around here. So yeah, baptism, rebirth and all that. Go symbolism.

**After a quick glace downward, I suddenly realized that Astrid was definitively not a girl.**  
An erection, or what? Well, this series does have its share of references to "that certain part of the male anatomy." Of course, any sex is never explicit.

**There was, like, a warm feeling all around me, and when I came to it, I was a Rock-type!**  
So, here we have the death and rebirth theme again. Some rock Pokémon died, and its essence-its aura, you could say-was somehow transferred to Astrid. Clearly, Poképhysics aren't quite like regular physics.

**That is when my life changed forever. A burning, yet pleasant sensation which stemmed from my arms and reached throughout my body, slamming my every nerve with pleasure on the way. The warm, dripping blood was no longer a source of revulsion in my mind, but rather the essence of joy. I felt it caress my skin, I felt it seep into me to soothe my pain, and I felt my body craving more.**  
So, yes. Blood, at least in this case, is basically sex. You can substitute it rather cleanly: Zerobi has her first experience with a male and a stranger, no less. The pursuit of it drives and eventually destroys her, but as a loss of innocence marks her transformation from a girl to a woman.  
Okay, that sounded way too creepy.

**Chapter 4: Ghost's Story**

**To be honest, I always wanted to be a Ghost Pokémon. I mean, they're awesome! You have almost no weaknesses, you get to fly around and you can even make yourself invisible or transparent! The only issue I've heard is that they easily frighten people, but a cute Eevee that just happened to be a Ghost-type? It's the best of two worlds!**  
This particular character (who is never technically named) must have been evasive and/or mischievous. Why else would he want to turn invisible, other than to scare or hide from others?  
Maybe he already felt invisible and wanted an appearance to match.

**So we were given these black cloaks to wear to keep our warmth, and to conceal our identities.**  
Now, does everyone in a cult really believe they're the chosen people, or will meet aliens or whatever? Probably not. I've never been in a cult, but I think the idea is to fit in rather than stand out. It's a place of belonging, like a gang.

**She brought the nervous thing up on the altar and asked her what kind of type she wanted to evolve into.**  
**"Poison!" the little thing shouted, desperately trying to sound masculine. Couldn't have been over 5 years old.**  
Why would a female want to sound masculine? Gender issues? Are cults typically male gatherings? Is the Poison type typically male? I don't know the answers, but I can certainly ask the questions. Also, I know nothing of the development of Pokémon, but five years old in many animals is into adulthood.

**"What! Like I'll let you... GRAAAHHH!" I heard the Gastly scream so loud that I felt the sound hit my stomach, "I-I'm vanishing! Help! Someone!"**  
By all indications, Ghost-type Pokémon (or at least the Gastly family) are basically sentient gas, not spirits. They can die, then-but what about the ghost of Cubone's mother? That's...That's an anomaly.

**I remember her cutting off my ears and taunting me, but I could still hear her somehow. At one point she cut a trail down my stomach towards my private parts, but she stopped right before them which made me thankful. I think she was on top of my [sic] all the time, but with the intense pain flowing through my every nerve it was hard to tell. Even a punch would have felt like a sweet caress at that point.**  
Sound anything like sex here? I didn't come up with the idea of vampires being hyper-sexual, by the way. They just both tend to be...messy.

**I stopped myself, and looked down in confusion.**  
**I was floating in midair.**  
Here, death does seem to mean a transformation into a ghost. I've never particularly understood why something as specific as a ghost should be a type-or dragons or poison, for that matter. If you ask me, the entire Type system is screwed up.  
Back on topic: apparently this Spectreon is still able to die. It seems Ghost-types are actually corporeal, if only some of the time.

**Walking was rather easy in comparison, since gravity would always keep you attached to the ground.**  
I have to wonder why ghosts wouldn't just shoot off into space if gravity had no effect on them. Of course, neither TPT nor Pokémon invented ghost physics.  
Freedom from the laws of physics, though? Being a ghost is the ultimate form of escapism.

**Chapter 5: Astrid's Story**

**Having been born in recluse, I find security in a cage.**  
Probably meant "seclusion" instead of "recluse." Anyway, I find this interesting: a cage is something meant to restrict freedom. It's a prison. It's surprising, then, that anyone could enjoy having his freedom taken away, especially when nothing was done to warrant imprisonment. However! Astrid was born into the prison that is his cave, and in a way, a cage can provide security. As it protects the outside world from what is inside, so does it guard what is within from what is without. The idea is that people are much more rarely a danger to themselves than to others.  
...Or maybe it's another typo and it was supposed to say "cave," which would probably make more sense anyway.

**I mean, I'm no stranger to killing . . .**  
It would seem this cage isn't so secure after all. Maybe Astrid's rocky exterior signifies how he's withdrawn into himself and blocked out his surroundings. I'm not saying that's right; I'm just saying it could be interpreted that way.

**And when I don't want to be found, I won't be found.**  
The darkness of a cave is perfect for camouflaging a rocky Pokémon. Actually, one wonders if Astrid had ever seen light before.

**Apparently, Halloween is something that happens on the sixth day of autumn.**  
That would put its date about a month before Halloween is usually celebrated. Clearly, Pokéseasons...etc.

Right in the dialogue here, I find it kind of hard to believe that the characters can recall events with such clarity. They're practically omniscient.

**These po-lice seemed to wield big authority . . .**  
Is a cave really under their jurisdiction, I wonder? Sorry that this is mostly observations; there isn't much going on in the way of symbolism in this chapter. Or maybe I'm just losing my touch!

**By doing this, I can live forever! I have found myself both eternity and divinity, all for the simple price of blood!**  
Totally a vampire.

**"You fucking killed me, bitch!" the ghost bellowed . . .**  
Ooh, language. This reminds me of another choice quote from chapter 8 of _The Human Species_:  
**"BITCH, I'M YOUR ACCOMPLICE!" Lucario bellowed.**  
So, for some reason, more than one dude has bellowed "bitch" at Zerobi, moving her to violence. Strange, no?

**"Oh, #% you &Â£Â¶ ÆŸÆ»Æ´, in your Ï Â¶-¾ "¸Î´"Š with thirty 'žÂ¶'"!" Astrid roars in rage.**  
Obviously this is non-canonical, but I have to wonder why the author decided to just _now_censor this cussin'. Comedic effect, I guess.

**"Finally time for the big climax, eh?" Snivy mumbles.**  
**"I'm behind you all the way!" Umk chuckles.**  
Umk-secret rapist? I'll get to this.

**Chapter 6: Story's End**

**As Snivy exited the detention cell, he immediately wished he hadn't as the pungent stench of Umk once more filled his nostrils.**  
Snivy actually does have nostrils, like real snakes, at the end of his nose. Actual snakes smell (mostly at least) using their tongues, but it's probably safe to assume Snivy isn't quite like ordinary snakes given his arms and legs.

**. . . large rocks were scattered randomly on the side. They loomed ominously over them in the dark of the night.**  
Graves! They're gravestones! It's a graveyard! Yeah, I've got nothing.

**The sky exploded in brightness as lightning struck behind it, casting a long shadow from the viscous creature.**  
I'd really say Umk is the viscous one. I'll have to talk about fixing up all these typos...Maybe someday I'll rewrite this whole series...Hmm...

**"No! Don't!" Eve wailed from behind them, "She's too strong! Zerobi, everyone already knows you're special, don't do this!"**  
Chances are that Eve is completely misunderstanding Zerobi's motivation. Actually, I wonder if some serial killers _do_kill for the attention.

**"Zerobi!" Snivy shouted while pointing at her, "You are hereby arrested for all that stuff you did!"**  
Either the writing is losing steam or Snivy's shaken by what's been going on. I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

**"Ooooh, you feel soooo good!" Zerobi taunted while licking some blood of her claw, "You too shall soon become a part of my body! We'll get to know each other quite intimately!" Smugleaf stared at her in silent disgust for a while, before suddenly bending over.**  
I am 100% sure of that murder=sex thing at this point.

**"My name... is not 'Smugleaf'..." he muttered angrily as he hunched over before howling madly, "It's SNIVY!"**  
This reminds me of that one part in The Matrix where he's all, "My name...is NEO!" That's a good movie. Lots of symbolism in that one.

**"Your resistance only makes me harder!" Umk said loudly as he felt a cold feeling in his lower regions, "Water may soften me, but ice has the opposite effect!"**  
This is what I mean by "Muk is a rapist." What's his deal? Also, this:  
**She inhaled deeply, occasionally stopping to cough up sludge that had invaded her facial orifices.**

**Now, drench me with your innocence!**  
This one's actually spoken by Zerobi. This is a strangely sexual scene.

**"... And then, SHE SUDDENLY CAME BACK TO LIFE!" Umk shouted while laughing uncontrollably.**  
**"What!" the Croagunk said, "But you said you melted her! You're drunk off your ass, man!"**  
Strangely enough, she totally _does_.

**Now they both looked down at the ground. A few days ago they didn't even know each other, but now it felt like they shared something invaluable.**  
Snivy seems kind of like a father figure to Eve-and possibly a love interest. That's some weird Oedipal stuff there, huh? You know, it occurs to me that I never did include any Freudian symbolism in here, mostly because I don't care for it. If you wish, though, you can replace every analysis with "(This/These) character(s) want(s) to sex up (his/her/its/their) parent(s) of the opposite gender. Also, everything is a penis or a vagina." Have fun!

**If you have something to tell me, leave a review or something, maybe we can strike up a conversation, get a drink sometime, listen to some music, collaborate a story, earn millions, move in together, spend millions, create solo careers, try to write music even though we can't, enter alcoholics anonymous and never talk to each other again.**  
Phase one is complete!


End file.
